tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37046589114928677412017-11-07T17:54:01.216+05:30Mr. Smith Goes to KathmanduBrian's thoughts and adventures in and around the country of Nepal.Brian Smithhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13550716842149752526noreply@blogger.comBlogger244125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3704658911492867741.post-33739709553772820442014-10-30T07:59:00.000+05:302014-10-30T07:59:07.488+05:30Moving On; Overfed, Over-Sexed & Over HereLife changes and people move on. I'm no longer in Kathmandu and if you wish to follow my most recent blog, please check out <a href="http://smithinlondon.blogspot.com/">Overfed, Over-Sexed, and Over Here</a>.<br /><br />Brian Smithhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13550716842149752526noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3704658911492867741.post-63923521431795027652013-03-07T14:25:00.000+05:302013-03-07T14:25:43.173+05:30Mr Smith is Home in KathmanduIt's been far too long since I posted here, and with my life as hectic as it is, I just don't have the time to write here like I should. As this has been a site I have kept up at least monthly (until recently) for over three years, it doesn't seem fair to me to just let it wither away, so I will make this my official last post. Not to say that I might not write something here or put up photos of trips I do, but as a regular thing I think it's time to bring this to a close.<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-lu4kE-VNQd0/UTgmxDofUbI/AAAAAAAAINk/JhiQs4CPqfs/s1600/Dad_Grill+House.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-lu4kE-VNQd0/UTgmxDofUbI/AAAAAAAAINk/JhiQs4CPqfs/s400/Dad_Grill+House.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;">My Dad visits Nepal &amp; the Grill House&nbsp;</div><br />It's been a crazy couple months since my last post. In December we held a couple of large events at the restaurant around Christmas and New Years, and then in January my Dad, my uncle Bob and my aunt Geri all came to visit. This was my first family to come to Nepal since I've been here, and I was really excited to show them around the country that I have fallen in love with. While they were only here for ten days, we kept all of them rather full, from showing them around Kathmandu and the valley, flying to Pokhara, seeing the sun rise over the Annapurna range, paragliding down to Phewa lake, driving to Lumbini, going on safari in Chitwan and then flying back for a few final days in Kathmandu for shopping and going the last day of a Nepali wedding.<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-yvfuYGWD-H4/UTgnBtSa0BI/AAAAAAAAINw/hz_-pRNaZ3Y/s1600/DSC00465.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="90" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-yvfuYGWD-H4/UTgnBtSa0BI/AAAAAAAAINw/hz_-pRNaZ3Y/s400/DSC00465.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;">Panoramic of the Annapurna Range</div><br />Showing other people around the country reminds me how comfortable I have become with a place that seems so alien and different to other people I share a&nbsp;similar&nbsp;background with. &nbsp;In fact part of the reason I haven't found so much to write abut here is because I lack that same perspective I arrived with and most readers in the West would identify with. I no longer gawk at cows in the road, become indignant at skin whitening cream commercials, or am&nbsp;surprised&nbsp;by the&nbsp;appearance&nbsp;of swastikas on people's lapels or above home's doors. I am certainly not Nepali, and lack the&nbsp;upbringing&nbsp;that would ever make me truly understand all of the cultural dynamics at play here, but I have become infinitely more comfortable and aware of them since I arrived, to the point where I occasionally am out of sync with what I was once comfortable back in the US.<br /><br />This place, Kathmandu, with all its quirks and what seemed at first strange ways, has become my home. When I first arrived, I wasn't sure how long I would stay, and I suppose I still don't, but I don't foresee myself leaving anytime soon. I've met and become friends with a great group of people, love the restaurant that I run, and am&nbsp;optimistic&nbsp;about the future here. I look forward not only to the&nbsp;opportunities&nbsp;that seem to&nbsp;endlessly&nbsp;fall into my lap to do interesting and exciting things, but also to continue to meet equally interesting and exciting people.<br /><br />I will continue to answers questions posted in the comments of this blog, and reply to e-mails that are sent directly to me. I think the trekking section contains some of the better information out there, and I'm always happy to talk to foreigners that are thinking about staying in the country longer than a tourist visa would allow and what kind of options you might have. So just because the blog may be rarely updated doesn't mean I can't expand on some of the topics I've covered over the last three years.<br /><br />So I suppose that's how this ends. Not as a tidy and neat story with a&nbsp;beginning&nbsp;and an end, but then life rarely ever does supply that kind of story line. I doubt this is happily ever after for me, in fact I'm sure it isn't, but I've learned to respond to life's curve balls not with disdain or opposition to those things we can't change, but to enjoy them to the extent that they can be enjoyed. Like a&nbsp;roller coaster,&nbsp;dread of an upcoming descent does nothing to change the the course of the tracks, so better just lift up your arms and embrace what has to come. Accept what you can't change, do the best with what you can, and enjoy the ride.Brian Smithhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13550716842149752526noreply@blogger.com11tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3704658911492867741.post-76565214723017720302012-12-14T20:16:00.003+05:302012-12-14T20:32:08.417+05:30I Want You To Hit Me As Hard As You Can<br />I've mentioned before that <a href="http://smith-kathmandu.blogspot.com/2011/01/what-year-in-nepal-and-fight-club-have.html">my favorite movie is Fight Club</a>, mostly because the theme of struggling with how to change your life was something that really resonated with me. While I am not currently building an army of space monkeys to bring down the world's financial institutions, I did take up boxing- which really isn't the same as bare knuckle basement fighting, but whatever. Now boxing is about the last sport I expected to take up, it had never occurred to me as something I might be interested in. My past athletic endeavors have mostly revolved around running- and essentially the more running involved in the sport, the better I was at it. Boxing didn't come up as a sport with much running, and the idea of getting pounded on by some dude didn't really appeal to me.<br /><br />So the other day a friend of mine that supplies my bacon at the restaurant mentions that he's starting back up in a boxing class, that is three days a week at a gym that is roughly a five minute walk from my restaurant- and with all the burgers now in my diet thanks to my consistent consumption of food at my restaurant- doing something athletic seems like a good idea.<br /><a name='more'></a><br /><br /><i>"A guy came to fight club for the first time, his ass was a wad of cookie dough. After a few weeks, he was carved out of wood."</i><br /><br />Cookie dough is a good word. I had this misconception that because I went for a run or a trek once in a while I was in good shape. After my first work out I was sore in places I didn't even know I had muscles. That endurance that I thought I possessed barely got me through the aerobic part of the workout- I was sucking wind and hitting walls. For some reason there is something within me that just absolutely hates not overcoming physical challenges, and when the instructor is calling out numbers for push-ups I am some damn disappointed with myself if I can't keep up. And keep up I couldn't- and even after three weeks still really can't. While I'm certainly not "carved out of wood", it's amazing how fast your body does adapt to these kind of intense workouts, and already I'm beginning to become at least somewhat capable.<br /><br /><i>"How much can you know about yourself if you've never been in a fight? I don't wanna die without any scars. So come on; hit me before I lose my nerve."</i><br /><br />It's a little sad that I'm 35 and don't have any idea how to throw a punch. Something new learned every day I guess. While I am building a bit more endurance, the one thing that I came to realize is that boxing requires a hell of a lot of coordination- something I've never been gifted with an abundance of. While raw athletic ability has always come to me at some level, precise coordinated movement is something that I sometimes lack. When you throw a punch- something I've never actually practiced, you have to move your whole body to make it effective, with leg, hip and arm all pivoting and moving to deliver the most force. This is tough for a guy who seems to regularly mix up left and right on the fly. And those gloves aren't heavy but when you keep em up by your head while bouncing around and swinging your arms around for a while they start to feel like lead. <br /><br />Narrator: <i>Whoa, wait, this is crazy. You want me to hit you?</i><br />Tyler: <i>That's right.</i><br />Narrator: <i>What, like in the face?</i><br />Tyler: [laughing] <i>Surprise me.</i><br />Narrator: <i>This is so fucking stupid</i><br /><br />So the other day I show up and there's no class until like 6:30 (I normally go at 4). This is too late for me, and the girl at the front desk lets me know I can go upstairs and workout on my own. I kind of chuckle at the silliness of this suggestion, but on second thought I go ahead and do what parts of the routine I can remember and spend some time with the punching bags. At one point during a short cool down between punching sessions I realize I haven't actually been hit with one of these gloves yet. Without even considering how stupid what I was about to do was, I clocked myself in the side of the face.<br /><br /><i>"For some reason I was reminded of my first fight with Tyler."</i><br /><br />Don't be fooled with the padding- it still hurts a bit.Brian Smithhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13550716842149752526noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3704658911492867741.post-46189303276184062992012-11-16T12:10:00.001+05:302012-11-16T12:10:55.590+05:30It's Not the Same After a Few Years<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">When I first started writing this blog and had arrived in Kathmandu with wide eyes, most of what I took photos of and talked about weren't all that different than what you see in most tourist blogs. But things change after a few years. Aside from a complete lack of time to devote to writing here, I also just don't have as much to say about being here in Kathmandu any more. At some point it becomes home, and all those things that strike my countrymen as extremely peculiar here just seem normal to me.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Still everyone once in a while you go about doing things that make for at least a good photo or two. So here are a few from the last few weeks.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-Sgsiabb2BE0/UKXUgyphI6I/AAAAAAAAIMY/btBXOrwUhV4/s1600/DSC00531.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-Sgsiabb2BE0/UKXUgyphI6I/AAAAAAAAIMY/btBXOrwUhV4/s400/DSC00531.jpg" width="367" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;">Roman Senator or Nepali Cross Dresser?</div><div style="text-align: center;"></div><a name='more'></a><br /><br /><div style="text-align: left;">The thing about togas is that they look an awful lot like saris. So while going to a toga party back home seems quite manly, here there is the chance you might just be seen as a&nbsp;cross dressing&nbsp;weirdo. Not&nbsp;deterred and confident in my sexuality I dressed in a toga for Halloween.&nbsp;</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-WoT6cz94Ucg/UKXVbt8F6UI/AAAAAAAAIMo/ZZcKIaP0QNU/s1600/DSC00529.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-WoT6cz94Ucg/UKXVbt8F6UI/AAAAAAAAIMo/ZZcKIaP0QNU/s400/DSC00529.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Spiced Rum, Carved Pumpkins- It's Halloween in KTM</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Halloween had become one of my favorite&nbsp;holidays&nbsp;back home. Despite my best efforts it still hasn't quite&nbsp;caught&nbsp;on here. I might have to open a costume shop here for next year.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/--qsAf9aUOXc/UKXVXmc27DI/AAAAAAAAIMg/j-x-vRW3xcE/s1600/DSC00541.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/--qsAf9aUOXc/UKXVXmc27DI/AAAAAAAAIMg/j-x-vRW3xcE/s400/DSC00541.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Music CD Launch and Press Lunch for Pamini</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">As reported earlier I will be in an upcoming Nepali movie, Padmini. A few days back we had the launch for the music CD that goes with the movie as well as the Premier of the music video. Now for those of you that don't know, it is almost a requirement in south Asian cinema that there be 5-15 minutes of song and dance randomly inserted into the movie that do little or nothing to advance the plot. Still I know that a good song and video can float a movie here that would otherwise bomb at the&nbsp;theater.&nbsp;</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-ikp3tu9dOL4/UKXXTreSCmI/AAAAAAAAINI/PTsObBmbXvU/s1600/lulz.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="266" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-ikp3tu9dOL4/UKXXTreSCmI/AAAAAAAAINI/PTsObBmbXvU/s400/lulz.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Lulz- I was on a Nepali Movie Website</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Watching all the parts that take place in getting a movie made here has been kind of cool actually. I'm being told that the release date is set for January 8th, and the run time will depend on the&nbsp;public's&nbsp;response to the film, with the typical film run lasting only about a week or so here.&nbsp;</div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-iL1JVjvLTQQ/UKXWCwCY0YI/AAAAAAAAINA/b-WfjWFLDBQ/s1600/CDlaunh.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="266" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-iL1JVjvLTQQ/UKXWCwCY0YI/AAAAAAAAINA/b-WfjWFLDBQ/s400/CDlaunh.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Yeah that's half my head there behind the guy who I&nbsp;believe&nbsp;sung the song.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">So I even got to get up on stage with the rest of the actors, directors, and producers. Stardom here I come.....well maybe not.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><iframe allowFullScreen='true' webkitallowfullscreen='true' mozallowfullscreen='true' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.youtube.com/embed/opQfXFLs0j8?feature=player_embedded' FRAMEBORDER='0' /></div><br /><div style="text-align: center;">&nbsp;Not my kind of thing...but hey, I'm not the target audience.&nbsp;</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-GX4wQ2gUZms/UKXVeDF7RqI/AAAAAAAAIMw/A0NIwJg5KTA/s1600/DSC00535.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-GX4wQ2gUZms/UKXVeDF7RqI/AAAAAAAAIMw/A0NIwJg5KTA/s400/DSC00535.jpg" width="362" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Grill House Staff at the International Food Fest</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Last weekend we got to participate in the International Food Fest held at Gokharna resort representing the good ol USA. Last year had been a bit of a disaster after having lots of technical problems with the equipment and having been very sick in the days leading up to the event. This year was redeeming in that we were extremely busy, and had lots of happy customers!</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-x2juMq286T4/UKXVjo0pw1I/AAAAAAAAIM0/JChuNR18Y1U/s1600/DSC00537.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-x2juMq286T4/UKXVjo0pw1I/AAAAAAAAIM0/JChuNR18Y1U/s400/DSC00537.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Our stall is ready to go!</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div>In fact we were so busy this year that I had to have more supplies sent mid day to make sure we had enough stock for the volume that we were doing. If I learned nothing else from this event it is that Buffalo wings have great crossover appeal here in Nepal. Brian's Wings n' Things may have to be my next venture!<br /><br />So yeah, from pictures of cows in the road and odd spelling on signs to Nepali movie events and food festival events it's been an interesting transition. Things keep on moving, and it's still a great adventure here, even if the content changes over time.Brian Smithhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13550716842149752526noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3704658911492867741.post-33022830677939935182012-11-07T21:00:00.000+05:302012-11-07T21:00:52.215+05:30The Siren Song of DemocracyWith the election having just taken place back in the US, this is maybe a bad time for a political post, but I'm going to venture into these waters anyway. To be honest I didn't have a horse in the race that just concluded, and while I know a lot of people who might read this are either elated that their candidate won and America was saved from a a rich guy who wanted to destroy America or distressed that some foreign born socialist continues to occupy the White House and plot America's fall into a second rate backwater country. I think both groups will find that nothing&nbsp;significant changes. The political class will continue to cut deals that benefit them and their&nbsp;associates&nbsp;at the expense of both groups of voters (or those like me who simply abstained for not wanting to support bad behavior), we will continue to meddle in the affairs of countries that are none of our concern and we will by and large over pay&nbsp;bureaucrats&nbsp;at every level while the working and middle class in the private sector continue to see their pays stagnate or dwindle. In a short period of time, those who are elated today will be finding excuses for why&nbsp;Obama&nbsp;does more to support big banks, continues to drop bombs on brown people on at least three&nbsp;continents, and continues to expand things like the Patriot act while the middle class withers and the working class settles for a lower standard of living. Conversely those who are saying they will flee the country to escape it's&nbsp;imminent demise will see that things do not abruptly change, and that the slow march of increased debt, reduced liberty, and greater central government reliance won't look all that different than what happened under the candidates that they have voted for in the past.<br /><br /><a name='more'></a><br /><br />This happens for several reasons, one being that the majority of the mass of government isn't replaced regardless of which way the voting goes, and despite dragging out a few peripheral issues that get voters worked up each year, the central ideas on how the system moves forward are essentially the same under either party. More importantly the same people essentially own both parties. Despite all his rhetoric about being for the middle class* and against wall street fat cats, Obama and wall street are best pals. In fact under Obama the US has backdoored more money through the Fed to large banking interests than anyone. Not that I blame Obama or Democrats, W. Bush started the process that Obamma merely continued and I have little doubt that there would have been very little policy shift in this area had Mr. Romney won. An article from the point of view of someone who&nbsp;approaches&nbsp;political realities with more of a sense of practicality and less a sense of idealism points out some good <a href="http://www.marketwatch.com/story/where-to-put-your-money-if-obama-wins-2012-11-06?pagenumber=1">stocks to invest in under an Obama presidency</a>.<br /><br />*As a brief aside I really was annoyed this entire political season by the misuse of what Middle Class is. Most people&nbsp;mistakenly identify themselves in a class that they do not in fact belong. If you work for someone else, chances are you are working class. If you are a high level&nbsp;professional, a&nbsp;successful&nbsp;entrepreneur, or a&nbsp;business&nbsp;owner any of which should be making a ways into the six figures you are middle class. Rich folk are not those who make&nbsp;salaries&nbsp;that sound large to you. Rich folk don't work, or at least they don't have to, mostly their money makes them more money. Because most people have so little exposure to how stratified society actually is they always assume from their perspective that they are the median point from which to judge wealth and class, and because something silly like 90% of Americans&nbsp;believe&nbsp;themselves to be middle class politicians are all too happy to appeal to such a large group by misusing the terminology.<br /><br />As we continue to praise democracy as our countries highest virtue, we continue to make a mockery of it and show how democracy alone is not a way to create a good or functional government. The&nbsp;dominance&nbsp;of a two party system that determines the only two people you can actually vote for (especially when this process is often controlled by party insiders, makes the freedom to choose our leaders more of an illusion than a reality. I have expressed this sentiment in the past, probably most concisely in <a href="http://smith-kathmandu.blogspot.com/2010/11/democracy-is-new-tyranny-american-myth.html">Democracy is the New&nbsp;Tyranny: The American Myth and Failure in Nepal</a>. In fact I am convinced that Democracy is a siren's song, that it does not on its own create any better form of social existence than any other kind of tyranny that has no bounds.&nbsp;Oppression&nbsp;by the majority is still&nbsp;oppression, and a democracy that fails to acknowledge the freedom of the individual is no better than a Monarchy; it is simply the same Leviathan in a different form.<br /><br />The push to constantly force democracy on countries throughout the world, regardless of their cultural backgrounds, continues to be one of the greater failures of US policy in my&nbsp;opinion. Democracies that elect&nbsp;oppressive&nbsp;governments aren't any better, and are often worse than what was previously in place. In countries like India and Nepal due to the social structure you simply create an even more disjointed plutocracy that is just as&nbsp;detached&nbsp;from the people as any other form of government they have used, but due to the fickle swings of power, even less is actually&nbsp;accomplished&nbsp;&nbsp;and&nbsp;when things are agreed on by a majority you can bet it had less to do with meeting the wants of the people. Our misunderstandings of what creates actual prosperity is a grave mistake, and confusing freedom with democracy is a sin we most likely will have to answer for at some time in our future.<br /><br />If the public does not have a some stoic sense of civic duty, or doesn't pay attention to anything beyond what &nbsp;is "is in it for them" when voting, then the entire process is antithetical to creating a better form of government, and democracy can become a vice instead of a check on power that it is supposed to be. When the constituency degrades to voting to loot the&nbsp;treasury&nbsp;in their own interests, then democracy becomes a noose around all of our necks. It was noted by our founders that democracy only works among a virtuous people, and as the founders were more likely to read Tacitus and Locke than Matthew or Paul, the meaning of virtue here is not one of religious faith but of the moral&nbsp;temperament&nbsp;taught in the philosophy of the&nbsp;Greeks&nbsp;and enlightenment thinkers that they identified with. Democracy and a respect for liberty have declined in conjunction with an understanding of what were once&nbsp;considered&nbsp;the cornerstones of Western thought. If values that create good behavior in its people are&nbsp;abandoned&nbsp;we can expect that the majority will continue let ignorance or selfishness dictate the course of their decisions at the expense of themselves and those who find themselves sharing the same ship. While I cannot say that the human race has or has not become any more ignorant or selfish in these later years, its increasing vastness of population and the general absurdity &nbsp;and insincerity of the discourse of the elections I have witnessed in my lifetime and the policies that have followed make me doubt if these expensive&nbsp;divisive&nbsp;shows we put on every four years are serving us well at all.Brian Smithhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13550716842149752526noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3704658911492867741.post-44536718609878638742012-10-21T16:56:00.001+05:302012-10-21T16:56:26.031+05:30Slipping into the PastI try to spend most of my time exactly where I am. This may sound strange, but many of us spend so much time&nbsp;focused&nbsp;on the past or the future that we forget where we are. Still every once in a while I'll slip and find myself picturing the future, or looking back at the earlier days of my life. Sometimes when I look back it's hard to see the connection, how the person I was ended up as the person that I am. How I went from a kid who liked to run and read to a guy running a restaurant on the other side of the&nbsp;planet&nbsp;is a long road that twists and turns through a life I've been happy to have lived but seems disconnected into segments that are barely tethered together.<div><br /></div><div>Some days events conspire against us and we can't help but spend some time apart from where we are. Today it was a combination of dreams about people I haven't seen in 20 years, a skype call from my friends back home, and thinking back over what I wanted to see as a tourist in Nepal in anticipation of my father's visit this coming winter. Although I've never used the internet to really&nbsp;reminisce, it's all out there now. Long forgotten photos, blogs, profiles of people you haven't seen in years, images of neighborhoods you haven't run through in decades. Friends that were once close that you'd almost forgotten, girls you had loved and then went your&nbsp;separate&nbsp;ways, beaches you had found paradise on, cities that had invoked wonder, words you had written that seem written by the hand of another. It's all out there.</div><div><br /></div><div>Often times though it's not about the images, or the words, or the places. It's simply about the feelings they invoked. Sometimes those people, places, or word, you can't even picture or remember them but you can remember how they made you feel. The proud smile of your parents. Turning a corner and seeing the Duomo &nbsp;in Florence. Reading&nbsp;<i>The Selfish Gene</i>&nbsp;and the epiphany of actually&nbsp;understanding evolutionary theory.&nbsp;&nbsp;Going up to Namchee Bazaar and knowing that you would return another time. That first girl you slept with your arm around. The moment that you realized there was no good reason to believe in a God. Proposing to my wife and having her not&nbsp;believe&nbsp;I was serious. Some invoked wonder, others joy, and some sadness or laughter. No matter how each one is remembered I find that they all result in the same feeling in the&nbsp;present&nbsp; a kind of melancholy.</div><div><br /></div><div>I'm not sure why the past induces such a sense of&nbsp;melancholy. I have very few regrets, while I enjoyed most of it I don't look back at it as my glory days or want to return to them- but still maybe it is just the&nbsp;impossibility&nbsp;to enjoy something in the exact same way as that moment in history. The inability to do things even slightly differently. To be a little kinder to people, to have not let them drift so far away, to have not taken things so for granted, to have been just a little more thankful. Then again all the things that we have done has made us who we are, harsh lessons and all. Some people drift apart, not out of malice or even neglect but simply because you are no longer the people that had found common ground. You remember that the girl you went your&nbsp;separate&nbsp;ways with jumped on your car when you tried to drive off after a fight.</div><div><br /></div><div>It's always easier to look back with accumulated wisdom and say maybe you would do things differently, but it was precisely those events that gave you wisdom in the first place, and the gift of such events are that you can apply these lessons to your current life. You can remember that you are prone to taking things for granted and try and be more thankful, you can&nbsp;recognize&nbsp;that over time people change and often drift apart, so enjoy those moments when you are in harmony. Be kinder because you've never regretted being kind to anyone for its own sake, and never date Italian woman because they tend to jump on cars and throw things.&nbsp;</div>Brian Smithhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13550716842149752526noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3704658911492867741.post-32027039292806482442012-09-17T10:49:00.000+05:302012-09-17T10:49:16.667+05:30A Man of Many HatsI tend to like big wide brim hats, as many of my photos on here have shown, but when it comes to life, it's far to short to wear the hat of a single skill or&nbsp;profession. Recently when I jokingly posted on Facebook about my new acting role, some made a list of all the things I do or have done. When I got to thinking about it, I have actually taken on far more roles than the average 35 year old, and though my skills in a few of these fields is certainly a bit shallow, I've also worked hard and become rather adept at others. I may not be the most interesting man in the world, as one friend quipped, but I have worked hard at a number of skills that I currently combine and use to make for an enjoyable life.<br /><div><br /></div><div>What many of these roles seem to have in common is the act of creation. As someone who was always a very down to earth, athletic and no-nonsense kind of guy it took me most of my life to realize that at heart what I really loved was the art of creation. Be it creating food, or philosophical systems, graphic design,&nbsp;business plans, games, cocktails or exercise&nbsp;regimen what I love is making things and figuring out a better way to do things. The list below of the hats I wear on occasion, while quite&nbsp;varied&nbsp;has a recurring theme of creating something.</div><div><br /></div><div><b>Restaurateur: </b>&nbsp;Somehow I ended up running and owning a restaurant. Not just any restaurant, but arguably one of the nicest in Kathmandu. My role here is one of part manager, part entertainer, part&nbsp;businessman, and part salesman. Talking about or selling the idea of the of the restaurant is something that comes easy to me&nbsp;because&nbsp;I really love it and&nbsp;believe&nbsp;we've put something special together. The other parts are what will make it financially viable and fun for other people to be here, which is the point of creating it in the first place. It also means having a vision for not only creating the place that we have, but having one for where it can go, and how to steer its future.&nbsp;</div><div><b><br /></b></div><div><b>Chef:</b>&nbsp;I love food. I've always loved food. My mother tells me when I was a small child I use to ask for blue cheese dressing, and when I turned 5 my Grandmother&nbsp;bought&nbsp;a very large lobster<b>&nbsp;</b>for me. What I love about working with food is how many dimensions you have to work with; there's texture, smell, appearance and taste. Now cooking without financial restrictions can be challenging, but working within the bounds of what is financially viable, works within the menu and your kitchen and then also can be molded into something that can appeal to all those senses is something that is very challenging, and when done well I find very rewarding. Not everyone will love what you make, but I get enough people thanking me for creating the things that I do on a regular basis that I'm happy with what we've put together here. It's a job I really love.</div><div><br /></div><div><b>Bartender-</b>&nbsp;I know the trend is to say mixologist....but I'm not a fan of the term. I like making good drinks, ones that a&nbsp;variety&nbsp;of people will enjoy, and I like experimenting with flavors. One of my goals when opening this restaurant was to create a bar where people would order and drink cocktails. Nepal being a beer and whiskey drinking country, many people were skeptical if there was a market for it here, but the cocktails that we have created here have been outselling all else. Who knew Ecuadorian cocoa infused tequila, mixed with vanilla infused bourbon,&nbsp;cinnamon tincture and bit of simple syrup would be so good? Not me until I tried it, but damn those New World Chais are my&nbsp;favorites.&nbsp;</div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-9FjadqesA28/UFXt7p6Rs3I/AAAAAAAAIL8/dw_LJUYU9ys/s1600/menu_GrillHouse3.0.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="282" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-9FjadqesA28/UFXt7p6Rs3I/AAAAAAAAIL8/dw_LJUYU9ys/s400/menu_GrillHouse3.0.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;">The&nbsp;Sandwich&nbsp;&amp; Burger Page I&nbsp;Designed&nbsp;For the Grill House<br /><a name='more'></a></div><div><br /></div><div><b>Graphic Designer:</b>&nbsp;I actually enjoy graphic design quite bit, though I've never been paid to do any. All of the menus and ads we do for the restaurant I've done, and have been very happy with how they have come out. Now am I a pro? Nope. Is it something I'm confident at and enjoy doing? Yes. A reviewer for one of the largest English language daily papers was in here the other day and noted that it was the best menu in Nepal, and several customers have told me how it feels just like a menu from the US, which was what I was trying to&nbsp;accomplish. I've also designed our logo, our bottled product labels, and a number of signs and special event menus.</div><div><br /></div><div><b>Philosopher: </b>Again this is not some paid position, but I've spent a good deal of time and energy in its pursuit, and I have put together some&nbsp;theorems I'm rather proud of. The book I've written, and am still working on, <i>The Purple Thread of Epictetus</i>&nbsp;is something I'm quite happy with, though I'm still rewriting parts of it when I find a spare moment, and life's lessons force me to&nbsp;reconsider&nbsp;some things or their&nbsp;approach&nbsp;on a nearly constant basis. My main interests in this filed is theories of practiced philosophy, especially those presented by the Greco-Roman Stoics, Cynics, Pyhric&nbsp;Skeptics&nbsp;and many Buddhist teachings. While I find modern writings clarifying and interesting, they too often lack anything in practical application and are more about semantics and rhetoric than getting at how to live a better life. As a person who has no patience for religious practice, I find that logical philosophical inquiry into the big questions still gives meaningful answers that can help guide us on how we live our lives.</div><div><br /></div><div><b>Project Leader /&nbsp;Surveyor /Architect: </b>Yeah I never bothered to get liscenced in any of it...I'm not a fan of collecting paperwork, but these are all jobs I can do with&nbsp;varying degrees of proficiency. In fact I think I was &nbsp;a very decent surveyor and I naturally fall into leadership positions, and enjoyed working as a project leader quite a bit. Before coming out to K Town I was in a position where I would be heading up our companies role in the largest Gas pipeline project to go into&nbsp;Manhattan. In many ways it's almost too bad you can't live multiple lives because I really would have enjoyed working on that. Still I was able to put many of my CAD skills to use here in designing the layout of the restaurant, drawing elevations for the bar, and coordinating much of the work that put this place together. My love of mapping and simple GIS has lead me to map out many of the big trails here and it's something I still enjoy, and would love to do projects here if the opportunity arose...maybe.</div><div><br /></div><div><b>Runner: </b>I am not that strength which in old days ran sub 5 minute miles, but that which we are, we are. Still I love to run, and continue to enjoy my running routes in Kathmandu,&nbsp;especially&nbsp;my runs to Boudha. In my old age I struggle usually to keep 7 minute miles, but it's more about the practice now, about the discipline it creates, and less about the speed. Still.this is a hat I would like to wear a little more frequently, and would enjoy doing some of the marathons they offer in the area. Within the next few years I want to train and participate in the route of the original Marathon that takes runners from the seaside town of Marathon in Greece to the Athens.</div><div><br /></div><div><b>Traveler:</b>&nbsp;If there is one hobby I enjoy the most it's travel. I&nbsp;absolutely love discovering new places, people and foods. Although it may not normally be thought of as something that someone is good at, I would say it is, and something that with years of practice I'm very comfortable with. The art of traveling is the creation of experience, about knowing how to use your time, be at ease where you are, and how to relax and still see the things that you want to see. For each person it may require a different&nbsp;approach, for me it usually means arriving with a loose plan of what I want to see and where I want to go, but an itinerary that is essentially made up as I go along. It usually means traveling on the cheap and enjoying small hidden gems of restaurants or moments with people off the beaten track.<br /><br /><b>Writer:</b>&nbsp;I love writing. In fact I've found that the act of writing itself can help clarify my own thoughts, and thus I try to do at least a little every day as an&nbsp;exercise. To be fair though blogging and diary like entries aren't real writing, it's more of a stream of&nbsp;consciousness just put to typing. Real writing is the crafting of that raw stream that has come out of your head into something much more refined, appealing, and effective in its conveyance of ideas or feelings. I find fiction almost impossible to write well, something I have tried on occasion, but am never satisfied with the result. I am much more comfortable at analysis and breaking down and presenting ideas or selling concepts. I use to occasionally write <a href="http://magic.tcgplayer.com/db/article.asp?ID=7014">articles for a Magic The Gathering web site</a>, I've written a book on modern practiced philosophy based mostly on stoic and Buddhist teachings (as alluded to earlier), wrote the menu for the restaurant, and I've actually managed to keep this blog going for going on three years now.<br /><br /><b>Gamer:</b>&nbsp;I don't think I ever bring it up on this blog, but I love games. Part of the reason I think I've been able to create so much here in Nepal is that the lack of any decent internet connections or gaming shops have required me to focus on other things entirely. As I just noted I use to play <a href="http://www.wizards.com/Magic/Magazine/Default.aspx">Magic</a>&nbsp;enough that I wrote articles for it and played in tournaments, I lost a good portion of my 20s to MMORPGs, especially Everquest and still love military tactical games with the highest&nbsp;admiration&nbsp;for Rome: Total War's mod called Rome: Total Realism. I grew up playing Dungeons &amp; Dragons, and though some might laugh (because wasting your time watching MTV is sooo cool right?) I learned a lot of very useful skills through all of this. All the writing I do started with gaming, learning excel and spread sheet design as well as graphic design? Gaming again. Typing and computer literacy? Required to play games online. Critical thinking, team work,&nbsp;situational&nbsp;assessment in a time sensative&nbsp;environment, historical literacy and an interest in geography, all of this I got from games. It shouldn't come as a&nbsp;surprise&nbsp;that one of my real loves is game design. In fact there aren't too many job offers that would make me go back to the US, but working on an MMO or for WotC would be pretty damn tempting. I'm even convinced that South Asia is a huge market for gaming that is entirely untapped, be it for trading card games or an MMO.<br /><br /><b>Actor: </b>I write this mostly in jest, as I've never studied acting, and aside from my recent role in a movie I have no experience. Still, I just finished up three&nbsp;separate&nbsp;shoots that will be in a final film that should be released in December. I did get to do my montage scene, which made me very happy- though I did fall&nbsp;awkwardly into a this odd wicker rocking chair that I had to use, but the director seemed to like it. At the last shoot, the guy who was leading the editing came up to me and said that e was very&nbsp;surprised&nbsp;to learn that I had no experience, as my expressions and lines had been delivered very well. This was echoed by the director and choreographer, but my gut tells me they were mostly throwing sunlight up my rear. Still it was fun to do, and though it's not a hat that will get much wear, it's a cool experience.<br /><br />They say &nbsp;it takes about seven years to become really good at something, so I still have plenty of time to learn more skills and continue to apply those skills I have learned to the new ones that come along. Although my focus now is on the restaurant and making that a&nbsp;successful&nbsp;venture, in the back of my mind is always&nbsp;something wondering what I can learn to create next.&nbsp;</div>Brian Smithhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13550716842149752526noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3704658911492867741.post-15215899003921430082012-08-24T11:26:00.001+05:302012-08-24T11:26:29.714+05:30Lights, Camera, Action!<br /><div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle">One of the great things about Nepal is all of the interesting opportunities that just seem to drop out of the sky due to the fact that I’m from some far off land. My most recent adventure was in Nepal’s film making industry, taking on the part of an American psychiatrist who has to diagnose a troubled young Nepali girl. How does this happen, you might ask?</div><div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><o:p></o:p></div><div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-CRYCixzNAuQ/UDcWP5dg61I/AAAAAAAAILQ/Ra9-SZ95j58/s1600/DSC00482.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="227" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-CRYCixzNAuQ/UDcWP5dg61I/AAAAAAAAILQ/Ra9-SZ95j58/s400/DSC00482.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="text-align: center;"><o:p>Poster for the film PaDHmini that I acted in</o:p></div><div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><o:p><br /></o:p></div><div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle">I was at the farmer’s market a few weeks back and a guy who use to come there quite often approached me and asked if I had any interest in being in a movie. Now this isn’t all that uncommon in Kathmandu, often foreigners are needed to fill in as extras or small parts for roles where there are white folk visible. With a shrug and a bit of a chuckle I said sure, and the guy asked if I’d like to sit somewhere and discuss. At this point he starts explaining that they need someone to play an American psychiatrist, when he discovers I’m American this is all the better. He’s explaining the roll, and it sounds fine, I’ll be in a few scenes with two separate shooting days. As the role begins to sound more and more complex I kind of stop him and ask;<o:p></o:p></div><div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle">“I’m only going to have a line or two, and mostly be a prop right?”<o:p></o:p></div><div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle">“Oh no. You will be on screen for about 20 minutes or so and have 15 minutes of dialogue. You have to interrogate the main characters and discover the psychological problem that the main actress is suffering from”</div><a name='more'></a><o:p></o:p><br /> <div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle">This was far more involvement than I initially expected, but it sounded like a fun opportunity. It was at this point that he said he would stop by with the director on the following Tuesday, go over the script and discuss wardrobe and such. I’m still thinking at this point that this will be a small production that will mostly be shown in the smaller cities and villages outside Kathmandu. When I meet the director and get the script though, it becomes clear that this guy has made a number of movies here, and in fact makes several each year that go to general release at the theatres here. My portion of the script is in English, though all of the direction and names are in Nepali, and the English is in desperate need of correction. We agree that on the following Saturday I’ll be picked up in the morning and we’ll go to a hospital near Benepa to do the shooting. It will take just one afternoon, and then I’ll do a separate shoot where I’m in the final scene which will be done at a later date.<o:p></o:p></div><div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle">My expectations of the whole event are rather low. The Nepali movie posters that plaster the walls of the capital have been a source of never ending amusement ever since I first arrived here. The plot to 90% of them seems to be something about guys wearing sunglasses, and woman wearing ill-fitting clothing while laying on their side. The one movie I actually have gone and seen that had English subtitles was actually rather decent, with only the last act being over dramatic and a little off. Looking over my part of the script I was happy to see no dance scenes, something that inexplicably occupies as much as 15-20 minutes at any moment in movies from the subcontinent and does nothing to advance the plot or make any bit of sense. <o:p></o:p></div><div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle">Upon arrival at the site I was told there would be a number of scenes that had to be shot before mine and I could walk around the village area for a while if I wanted to. So I relaxed and took a walk, but upon return it was clear that nothing had still been shot and crews were still playing around with lighting and sorting out electrical. Long story short there was a problem with the camera’s hard drive and then there were issues with electricity and they were working on getting a generator. First scene didn’t get shot until almost 4pm. Because they only had access to the hospital for one day they would have to shoot late into the night and they asked if I would mind staying up here overnight if we finished late. I agreed and figured I could still get back to the restaurant by lunch time the next day.<o:p></o:p></div><div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-DWHyDlA7rnM/UDcWviOnYdI/AAAAAAAAILY/Ffhsnw7rbpA/s1600/DSC00479.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-DWHyDlA7rnM/UDcWviOnYdI/AAAAAAAAILY/Ffhsnw7rbpA/s400/DSC00479.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="text-align: center;"><o:p>Camera and light crews ready the set where my scenes were shot</o:p></div><div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><o:p><br /></o:p></div><div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle">My first scene wasn’t shot until around 6pm. Now despite my initial impressions and the problems that had been encountered, I was struck a bit by the level of professionalism exhibited by all the people involved, from the director to the actors and actresses. My complete inexperience all of a sudden felt a bit awkward, and when the first time the director said action and the thing clapped away from in front of my face I couldn’t seem to remember how to talk, and there was a horribly long pause before I started speaking. Initial uncomfortableness faded, and soon enough I was delivering lines and expressions as best I could, sometimes at direction that seemed a bit counterintuitive to me due to varying cultural expectations of behavior. <o:p></o:p></div><div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle">With the nature of the lines being delving into the sexual past and problems of my subjects there were more than a few lines on each side that were a bit hard to deliver. On more than one occasion scenes were cut due to chuckles, and unintended smirks. Though for the most part things went smoothly, with some period of time between shots taken to set up tracks for the cameras and adjust lighting. All of this wore on late into the evening, and eventually it became clear we would be shooting all night.<o:p></o:p></div><div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle">I was part of three separate scenes, with the first one not being finished until sometime after midnight. Being completely ignorant of how a movie is shot I was unfamiliar with shooting lines out of sequence, repeating a number of shots from different angles (as this isn’t a high budget Hollywood flick, there was only one camera to shoot with at a time), or how many close up shots would be done for each actor. Sometime after 2:30am I was told that I would have a bit of a break, so I went and laid down to sleep. I was especially tired as the last two nights at the restaurant had gone until 2am or so, so I was already working on just 10 hours sleep from the two days prior. Expectedly I passed right out, even if I was just resting on an examination table.<o:p></o:p></div><div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle">&nbsp;Just before 5am I was informed that I’d have to get ready for another couple shots. Most had been fairly easy as I was more of a prop for other people’s close ups where my shoulder had to be in the foreground. When it came time to deliver some lines, that were about five sentences long, I was struggling. Although corrected, the English was still a bit halting and unnatural to speak and my lack of sleep was making me a little punchy. By the time I got to take 8 I just truncated the last line that had been giving me trouble and looked at the actor playing the father and said “we’ll treat your daughter.” Instead of the long compound sentence that had tripped me up previously. Everyone seemed happy enough. <o:p></o:p></div><div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-WiIf7j0i7cs/UDcXG7WIgtI/AAAAAAAAILg/gbLpCZT7lKo/s1600/DSC00480.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-WiIf7j0i7cs/UDcXG7WIgtI/AAAAAAAAILg/gbLpCZT7lKo/s400/DSC00480.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="text-align: center;"><o:p>Under the bright lights, an actor's eye view</o:p></div><div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><o:p><br /></o:p></div><div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle">By 7am I finished my last shot to applause from the crew and other actors, not sure if they were happy with my performance or glad to be done with me, though they claimed it was the former and were very gracious, having treated me very well the entire time. With my shooting done I gathered up my clothes, shook everyone’s hands and was shuttled back to Kathmandu. My one regret is that we never had time to shoot my montage, which I assume got cut due to time constraints. I still have to shoot a scene in the jungle on a full moon night apparently where the climax of the movie takes place. Should be fun!<o:p></o:p></div><div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle">So if you happen to be in Kathmandu and see a film named PadHMini playing some time around this coming December, go see it! It’s also very likely that this will be not only my acting debut, but my final movie as well…so it’s a rare treat in a way. It may be worth it just to see me ask people about their sex life, smile while I tell a guy not to worry that his daughter has extreme pyscho-sexual problems or that his wife has a questionable past. You can marvel at my acting skills as I listen intently and rub my chin in deep contemplation, and what movie can’t have an awesome ending that involves a girl with psychological sexual problems in a Nepali jungle on a full moon with an American psychiatrist? If these teasers can’t get you into a theatre, I’m not sure what would.<o:p></o:p></div>Brian Smithhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13550716842149752526noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3704658911492867741.post-91378320758861597792012-08-07T09:06:00.001+05:302012-08-07T09:06:30.532+05:30Monsoon Trekking: SolukhumbuI've done more monsoon trekking than the average bear, and I always write about how it aint that bad. Still every time I'm about to do a trip in the monsoon I always buy into the hype a bit and assume it might be a&nbsp;miserable&nbsp;time. Even when I read my entry about <a href="http://smith-kathmandu.blogspot.com/2010/07/big-monsoon-lie.html">The Big Monsoon Lie</a>&nbsp;or what a great trip I had up in the <a href="http://smith-kathmandu.blogspot.com/2010/08/monsoon-trekking-gosainkund.html">Gosainkund lakes</a>&nbsp;I still assume maybe I just got lucky. Well I just got back from another great trip, with fabulous views, decent warm weather and hardly another tourist on the trail- this time visiting the land of Everest up in Solukhumbu.<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-DyzDDkjB5V4/UCCFoMBz6pI/AAAAAAAAIKg/MV-X20mkLw0/s1600/P7240094.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-DyzDDkjB5V4/UCCFoMBz6pI/AAAAAAAAIKg/MV-X20mkLw0/s320/P7240094.JPG" width="240" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;">Water falls this time of year are awesome&nbsp;</div><br />In the last post I said I was going to try the backside of Annapurna, but as it turns out there are no flights into Humde until September unless you charter a flight. This was a trip with a very small time window due to the schedule of a friend that was visiting and only had roughly five to seven days. The toughest part about monsoon trekking in Nepal really is just getting to the trail heads, as the roads are a mess and the clouds can ground planes for days. We booked flights into Lukla and got out the day we were supposed to, no problem. Just to point out that this is not always the case, the week previous flights had been grounded for five days&nbsp;straight.<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-5e2v8m7zTzA/UCCF7G-oBjI/AAAAAAAAIKo/2Yht0Df-9dY/s1600/P7260101.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-5e2v8m7zTzA/UCCF7G-oBjI/AAAAAAAAIKo/2Yht0Df-9dY/s320/P7260101.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;">Clear views from Namche Bazaar&nbsp;</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">The weather was fine the whole time we were up there. On our initial day we got some light rain during the day, but nothing heavy until just as we reached Namche. This pattern, and this being the pattern I've observed every trip, held up the whole time we were up there. Mornings are generally clear and offer the best viewing of the mountains (5:30ish when the sun is first coming up seems to be best), by afternoon some clouds rise up from the valley and obscure the views, and in the evenings you get some heavy rains. Generally if you can be indoors by three or four in the afternoon you don't get too wet.&nbsp;</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-Jfw6NpDLTZE/UCCGI4msMSI/AAAAAAAAIKw/nzyi2sNBxLs/s1600/P7260110.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-Jfw6NpDLTZE/UCCGI4msMSI/AAAAAAAAIKw/nzyi2sNBxLs/s400/P7260110.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;">Looking down the valley toward Amadablam &amp; Everest</div><br />Speaking with the lodge owner of the Khumbu lodge in Namche (highly&nbsp;recommended, place and service is great) it appears that this monsoon is even slower than normal. It's really too bad too, because of my four trips to the region it was easily the most pleasant temperature wise, and the views were as good as my September trip and my first March trip. It was also clear that the rain and clouds were less of a factor the further up the valley you went. Due to time constraints we only went as far as Tengboche&nbsp;monastery this time, but it was clear that the worst of the rain fell south of Namche at the sub 4,000 meter (12K feet) elevations.<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-oXhnTcSULoU/UCCGZB-VzVI/AAAAAAAAIK4/rb0qxxiF06w/s1600/P7270117.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-oXhnTcSULoU/UCCGZB-VzVI/AAAAAAAAIK4/rb0qxxiF06w/s400/P7270117.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;">Clouds move over peaks east of Namche</div><br />As I know this blog often gets searched out for advice on people wanting to (or being forced to) trek during the monsoon period, all I can say is that every time I go I have a good time. Solukhumbu was no different, and as the pictures show we were certainly not denied the beautiful views of the region. Obviously experiences will vary, but the longer I live here and talk to other people traveling and go on trips myself in the monsoon, the more convinced I become that it's not a bad time of year to go up into the mountains.Brian Smithhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13550716842149752526noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3704658911492867741.post-70490576440499964412012-07-18T13:29:00.001+05:302012-08-06T20:30:36.880+05:30Cooking for Kings & Getting Back to the Mountains<br /><div class="MsoNormal">So posts here have been few and far between, not because of a lack of interesting things happening or things to discuss, but just due to a sheer lack of time. Last week we had a huge 4<sup>th</sup> of July event that catered to some 200 people (I had expected maybe 50), we had a great Friday night following with a friend of ours, who is a DJ, setting up a good dance party, and then we hosted the former king of Nepal for his birthday on Sunday. By the time Monday rolled around all I could do was lay in bed and sleep- as for the week prior I had averaged about 4 hours of sleep and consumed more alcohol than I’m used to. When every night is a party your life is the opposite of everyone else’s, all you crave is a night where you can get home and go to bed at 10pm and not have any alcohol in your system. With the amount of work I had to do to prepare and get ready for Sunday’s event I had shunned any drinking for at least a couple of days and I’ve learned to start walking around with a bit of cranberry juice with ice in a rocks glass and claim it’s cranberry and vodka so people don’t try to buy me too many drinks. This isn’t a problem I ever thought I’d have.<o:p></o:p></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-VAqsvsLq51g/UB_buxtKfPI/AAAAAAAAIKI/wmoikqlkWjM/s1600/DSC01848.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-VAqsvsLq51g/UB_buxtKfPI/AAAAAAAAIKI/wmoikqlkWjM/s400/DSC01848.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;">Grill House owners and staff with the former King of Nepal</div><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal">While the other events were fun (although the 4<sup>th</sup>was complete chaos) the royal birthday was a once in a lifetime experience that while very stressful, was something I’ll always look back at as a really great experience. I mean who moves to a foreign country and ends up hosting and cooking for royalty? Me apparently. I also think it may have been a first in Nepal, as normally they are hosted at the 5 star hotels in the city, and not at local restaurants, no matter how nice they might be. So this was not only something completely new to me, but was also something outside of what they normally do.</div><a name='more'></a><br /><div class="MsoNormal">It also became clear what a great group of people I’m working with on this project for this event, as all of us pulled from our different talents to get everything put together. The building we are in is still not quite finished but Ram really pulled things together and made the front entrance looked first rate. As they wanted some rice dishes that were closer to a traditional pallet I was able to lean on Rachael to pull something together from Imago Dei, and she also supplied her very professional staff, logistical support, contacts and front end management that freed me up to concentrate on the kitchen. Gaurav was able to pull our lounge together and make just about everything happen. I’m really grateful to all of them for their hard work and support that made the event something we can fondly remember. I also should note that my staff did a very good job of pulling things together and acted very professionally which I am grateful for as well.<o:p></o:p></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal">Still there is something surreal about my life on a day to day basis here, and this was even more so than normal. It’s the kind of stuff you read about in novels growing up, not the kind of stuff you expect to do on a regular basis in your life. Aside from the normal challenges that face any business, especially one based in Nepal, things are going really well, better in fact than I would have dared to hope for. So well in fact that it makes me a bit nervous on occasion....that something is almost too good to be true.&nbsp;<o:p></o:p></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal">Next week Kim arrives from the US, and I hope to actually get out of the valley for the first time in well over a year. As of now the hope is to fly into Humde on the backside of Annapurna, but we’ll see how cooperative the weather is. So far this monsoon has been really pleasant, with little or no rain in the day and fantastic views throughout the valley and most of the rain coming late in the evenings. Hopefully this trend continues and we’ll have some nice weather to travel in. I’ve been dying to get out into the mountains after staring at them every day from the restaurant. It’s like a cat staring at a piece of yarn swinging back and forth, you can only stare at it in fascination for so long before diving at it.<o:p></o:p></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal">What we do exactly &nbsp;when we get up there will depend on the conditions and what Kim and her friend feel like doing. The best part of the whole circuit in my opinion runs from Humde through Manang over the Thorung La, down to Mukinath and over to Kagbeni. If we end up not having time or not wanting to go up and over the high Thorung La pass there are so many day trips in the Manang area that we can easily keep ourselves busy for the five or so days that we have, and just fly back out of Humde as opposed to Jomsom. &nbsp;Whatever we do, it’ll be nice to enjoy the parts of Nepal that attracted me here in the first place once again and finally get out of Kathmandu for a small break.<o:p></o:p></div>Brian Smithhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13550716842149752526noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3704658911492867741.post-41682685327593829202012-06-15T06:48:00.001+05:302012-06-15T23:38:57.188+05:30Missing Trekker in Langtang & a Warning About Trekking There<br /><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: red;">UPDATE</span>- No sooner did I post this than I found news that the young girls body has been found. My heart goes out to her family. I really hope that someone begins taking these tragic events up in the Langtang region very seriously.<br /><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal">A young Belgian girl named Debbie Maveau has gone missing in the Langtang area. She is 23 years old and was last recorded at the check post in Dhunche on May 30<sup>th</sup>. She was supposed to fly back home early this month and has missed her flight. If you were recently trekking in the area and saw her or have any information about her please contact the Belgian Consulate at 014432867. I don’t think I need to mention how important time is in a case like this, so please help as soon as possible if you know anything at all. Below is a poster I snapped a picture of in Thamel the other night.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-h-KJu6ycRvI/T9qNERg3LrI/AAAAAAAAIJs/tzlVY6mUZ_Y/s1600/DSC00389.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-h-KJu6ycRvI/T9qNERg3LrI/AAAAAAAAIJs/tzlVY6mUZ_Y/s320/DSC00389.jpg" width="240" /></a></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal">I also want to take the time to offer advice against any travel to the Langtang area for the time being. I say this as someone that has traveled to Langtang on three separate occasions and has greatly enjoyed the hospitality of the local population and the beauty of the region. I also say this as someone who almost exactly two years ago, when Aubrey Sacco went missing, defended travel there as still relatively safe and an isolated incident that seemed out of character of the region. Over the last two years though people continue to still search for Aubrey with very little local support, just last season another American girl was assaulted on the trail, and rumor has it that a Korean girl was also assaulted, though no reports were filed that I’m aware of. Other stories keep coming to me from a varied number of sources that other things are being swept under the rug or the whole truth is not being told. Included in this was a body found in the Helumbu region during the search for Aubrey that was not adequately explained or even told to the public.&nbsp; Now another young foreign girl is missing.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal">Although no one, or very few that aren’t talking, know exactly what’s going on Langtang, there is a very clear pattern emerging over the last two years that shows that it is not a safe travel destination, especially for young foreign woman. I still believe that Nepal is a relatively safe travel destination, that most of its trekking trails are some of the best in the world, and highly recommend coming here, but I think it’s clear that there is a problem in Langtang that needs to be dealt with before more young girls go missing. The trail in Langtang is not a difficult one, it is almost impossible to lose, and there are few places that offer a real hazard of falling or getting yourself into trouble in a place where a passerby would not soon find and help you out. This adds to the speculation that whatever is happening is probably at the hands of people with ill intent. </div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal">As Nepal, and even other embassies and consulates, are not in a hurry to make much of this information very public, I think it’s important that we get the information out there to reduce the chances of this happening again. People need to be informed of what is going on, and pressure should be brought to bear to ensure that the authorities in the area realize that there will be economic consequences if these kind of cases continue to not get enough attention and whoever is responsible for the problem continues to go free. My heart continues to go out to the family of Aubrey, and now to this girl’s family too. We can hope that both of these girls turn up and are found safe and sound, but until then please think before traveling there until something is done as I would rather this list doesn’t get any longer.</div>Brian Smithhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13550716842149752526noreply@blogger.com12tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3704658911492867741.post-44836380534979246522012-06-12T08:52:00.000+05:302012-06-12T08:55:05.815+05:30I Love BurgersIt's been no secret that one of my goals in opening the restaurant here was to introduce real burgers to Kathmandu. In a previous post<a href="http://smith-kathmandu.blogspot.com/2011/05/if-you-were-hamburger-in-kathmandu.html"> <i>If You Were a Burger in Kathmandu Where would You Hide?</i></a>&nbsp;I talked about the enormous challenge of doing good burgers in this country, but I am very proud to say that I think we have created definitely the best in the city, and most likely some of the best in all of Asia. Our burgers are already so popular that they&nbsp;overshadow&nbsp;the rest of our extensive menu to a point where I am&nbsp;considering&nbsp;a slight&nbsp;reevaluation of our layout, making the burgers more prominent and&nbsp;&nbsp;possibly expand the options a bit further.<br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-JClCFO8Cy9o/T9a0DCH78aI/AAAAAAAAIJU/wVaxg8udBko/s1600/DSC00345.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-JClCFO8Cy9o/T9a0DCH78aI/AAAAAAAAIJU/wVaxg8udBko/s400/DSC00345.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;">Our Chipotle Burger- One of the most popular on our menu.</div><br /><a name='more'></a><br /><br />The first thing I have learned is that there is a very strange concept of what a burger is here in Nepal. While any American reading this instinctively understands that a burger is defined by the fact that it is made of ground meat (i.e. a chicken burger is ground chicken, a beef burger is ground beef etc.), a burger in Nepal is defined by the roll, which they call a burger bun. Anything in that bun is a burger. So a chicken burger will often be either grilled chicken or a piece of fried frozen chicken mystery meat cutlet, while a cheeseburger will almost universally be a&nbsp;disappointing&nbsp;piece of cheese and veggies on a roll- we would call this a cheese sandwich. I'm constantly confused when customers or friends refer to sandwiches as burgers. I've even had kitchen staff that wanted to serve chicken burgers with whole breast meat-&nbsp;Damn it&nbsp;that's a sandwich, not a burger! Oh well.<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-LNF9oW8EeUc/T9a0saf1_uI/AAAAAAAAIJc/Ar3NDbqIRYk/s1600/DSC00351.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-LNF9oW8EeUc/T9a0saf1_uI/AAAAAAAAIJc/Ar3NDbqIRYk/s400/DSC00351.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;">The roll may not define it as a burger- but real bread sure makes it a hell of a lot better!</div><br />Some of this confusion over the true nature of a burger aside, the response to what we have been serving has been great. We currently offer a selection of 20 different chicken and beef burgers, and despite this being a Hindu country the beef burgers are our most popular item by a country mile. I think we've managed to jump all of the&nbsp;significant&nbsp;hurdles I discussed in that last blog entry; we bake our own bread, we buy imported beef, we import our own cheeses, and our kitchen is equipped with a proper grill so that the burgers themselves can be cooked correctly. Most importantly we offer a number of combinations that no one else in this country even comes close to, I mean most places can't make a regular burger and we are offering everything from bacon &amp; cheddar burgers to chili burgers to ones with grilled apples and&nbsp;Gorgonzola.<br /><br />The biggest difference really is that I love what we make. Maybe it's unfair to assume that some of the other places don't but it's clear that a large number of places here have no respect for the food that they serve. I take it seriously. It's not a bunch of substandard components thrown together, but instead it's a collection of carefully considered ingredients that we make from scratch and combine to make what i think are some really cool flavor combinations. Our sauces are, I think, the best offered in the valley and the cheeses are the real thing. I could have saved on price points by bringing in cheaper cheeses, but I really wanted to do high quality burgers. So we aren't just using a cheap Swiss cheese, we use&nbsp;Gruyere. We didn't settle for a cheaper Gorgonzola, we import an award winning, high end blue cheese. We buy bacon that is made and smoked locally and is some of the best tasting bacon I've ever had and is free of added chemicals and&nbsp;preservatives.&nbsp;We could just go to the market and buy our ketchup or our mustard, but we don't, and I think our products are better for it. Best of all, it all appears to be paying off, because I'm not the only one that loves these burgers as it appears I wasn't the only person missing these in Kathmandu.<br /><br />Aside from plugging how awesome our burgers are at our restaurant, the real point I wanted to get across in this post is that something is much better when you really love what you are creating. When you know the product, you care about the results, and you take what you are doing with a seriousness that demands a certain level of commitment to what you are producing. At the end of the day of course these are just burgers, but like a game of football where the ball is just a ball, when you are on the field it is everything. It's having the perspective to give everything to something and make it as perfect as you can, but at the end being able to walk away when the last customer leaves for the night and realize it's just food. That said I think there are only a few things in this world worth taking seriously- ideas and food. I'm not really sure which one gets first billing either- but damn I love a good burger.Brian Smithhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13550716842149752526noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3704658911492867741.post-83699142420600139792012-05-21T18:06:00.000+05:302012-05-21T18:27:15.153+05:30Serious KarmaCalifornia is the worst thing that ever happened to Buddhism. Not the place really, but that New Age garbage that seems to have been tagged on to every concept, to the point where the actual meaning of the words and the ideas behind them are unrecognizable from the actual meaning. This may be more true of our basic understanding of the concept of karma than any other that has entered into popular understanding. It may be somewhat unfair to blame just western hippies and media though, as the influx of Hindu and Animist traditions that shaped Buddhism into a religious practice in the east is just as full of nonsense as the crystal healers of the West. The popular understanding of Karma is that as you do good things, good things happen to you, and the converse of bad things is also true. So for instance if you help enough elderly woman cross the road you are saving up some kind of mystical "good" points that might be cashed in at some point to win the lottery. This isn't really even close to right.<br /><br /><a name='more'></a><br /><br />Karma isn't about good or bad, deserving or undeserving, it is about understanding the cause and effect of human action. As I've noted before, I had dismissed the concept of Karma for years as rubbish, but that dismissal was due to my lack of understanding of what the term really meant. California Karma, as described above, is rubbish, but the real concept is useful in understanding the relationship of human action, cause and effect and the influence of the past on the present. Real karma isn't mystical, there is no special force that intervenes and meters out justice, there isn't any scoreboard in the sky keeping track of good deeds vs bad deeds, mostly because such notions are purely human labeling being forced onto our experience. It's more about how not doing any physical activity &nbsp;and eating poorly can lead to weight problems and an unhealthy body. How if we cheat one person it creates a wave of response in the social network, where we have created a less trusting individual, and this experience will create an&nbsp;environment&nbsp;that has less trust in it, affecting the decisions of others. It is even how the choices of those who came before us have shaped the&nbsp;societies that we live in, and even have shaped the very genes that act as the basis of the human experience.<br /><br />Karma is about understanding that action is more important than intent. That it is the actions that we take and how they ripple through the world that makes the future. Our vices and our virtues create the actions we take, those actions create the world that we live in, and that world is what future actions are made in response to. It is understanding that sum of all of history leads up to each moment, that the&nbsp;incremental&nbsp;building of all decisions ever taken has created the event that you are currently responding to, and that action you respond with will create the&nbsp;environment&nbsp;you will have to interact with in the future. While those actions closest to our lives impact us more directly, especially our own, the actions of those around contribute greatly to what kind of society we live in as well.<br /><br />In fact I would argue that the vices and virtues of populations at large manifest themselves very clearly in how life is lived in different places in the world. The reasons that&nbsp;societies&nbsp;function, or fail to function, is due to the collective actions of its citizens. Karma in many ways is like a very complex application of game theory, about understanding how in very complex webs how one decision affects other decisions, and how that rebounds through the social&nbsp;consciousness of all those around us. When societies collectively accept or reject&nbsp;certain&nbsp;forms of behavior it creates a place where the repeated effects of those actions manifest&nbsp;themselves in how that society is lived in. Each part of the world is what it is because of how the people there have handled each situation before them.<br /><br />When reading about the Pol Pot regime in Cambodia I remember there being a section on how one of the&nbsp;underlying&nbsp;assumptions of the people of Cambodia, due to their Buddhist&nbsp;heritage, was that they must have done something&nbsp;awful&nbsp;that made them deserve what happened to them. At first such a notion seems horribly cruel, but I think part of the understanding here is wrong. It isn't about deserving or not deserving, it's about the&nbsp;environments&nbsp;that we create. No one can claim that a 6 year old girl deserves to be executed as an enemy of the state, but as a culture we are&nbsp;responsible&nbsp;for creating&nbsp;environments&nbsp;where these kind of things can happen. It is never from just one individual or one thing, but a complex web of interaction that allowed the poor to be exploited, that allowed for the ideas of Cambodia's communists to be accepted by the people, that allowed for the government they overthrew to be so horribly corrupt, etc. Some things that contributed were metered out by&nbsp;admittedly&nbsp;outside forces, such as the effects of American bombings along the&nbsp;Vietnamese&nbsp;border, but how that plays into everything is part of a much larger picture. Because this wasn't just Cambodia, this was the effects of events in France, the US, China, Vietnam, Russia, etc. just to list the other locations that were directly involved. The scope is very broad and the system as a whole encompasses all human action, even if for the sake of&nbsp;simplicity&nbsp;it is easier at times to focus on certain events and locations.<br /><br />This also highlights why it is so important to have some understanding of history, why it is important to see what forces and actions have created what we are dealing with in our lives. I do not just mean large scale world events, but an understanding of your families history, the history of the place where you live, what were the actions that created you and where you live. What were the actions that people have taken that have created what we love and&nbsp;cherish&nbsp;in these places and ourselves, and what has created the&nbsp;undesirable&nbsp;elements. What actions need to be taken to create better environments, and what changes to accepted action can we make in our lives that will create better&nbsp;environments&nbsp;for us to exist in? By understanding the past we can use that information to guide us into the future, we can learn from the failures of the past, and we can see how our past actions have contributed to possible future difficulties.<br /><br />I don't think "good karma" is collected by spinning prayer wheels, but it might be that the payoff of contemplation while doing so can make your life better. It isn't about&nbsp;accumulating +s and -s, it's about&nbsp;understanding&nbsp;how the actions you take will reverberate not only through your life, but through the place where you live and the human world as a whole. While it was the concepts of the Greek stoics that taught me why human action is the basis for the measure of right or wrong in our lives, it was the Buddhist concept of karma that let me see how far reaching the&nbsp;consequences&nbsp;of those actions are.Brian Smithhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13550716842149752526noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3704658911492867741.post-71543111922123892462012-04-30T18:25:00.000+05:302012-04-30T18:25:20.884+05:30Living the Dream<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Often times when people ask "what are you doing today" there is a somewhat common sarcastic answer "living the dream". I think I might be able to answer sans sarcasm. I currently own a restaurant in one of the most interesting places in the world, cook food that I love, serve it to people that love it in turn, have an outdoor terrace with possibly one of the best views on the planet, and continually get to meet some really&nbsp;intriguing&nbsp;people that seem inclined to buy me shots of Patron or a New World Chai (my favorite of my creations- Cocoa infused tequila, bourbon,&nbsp;cinnamon&nbsp;tincture). Now I'm not a big drinker, but few people get to hang out and drink with great people and call it work, fewer get make money from it.&nbsp;</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-OvzBTCVzBGY/T559r0Y3TPI/AAAAAAAAIJI/H4Hjp1BwnVk/s1600/DSC00342.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="245" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-OvzBTCVzBGY/T559r0Y3TPI/AAAAAAAAIJI/H4Hjp1BwnVk/s400/DSC00342.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">What I see on my way to work is a little different</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"></div><a name='more'></a><br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Sometimes I'll be walking to the restaurant in the morning and as I pass cows, woman in saris, people selling vegetables on the side of the road and all the street scenery that makes Nepal so different from back home and wonder what exactly happened in my life that I ended up doing what it is that I'm doing. I get to the restaurant and start making bread and after I sit and look out over the mountains and think that I'm pretty damn lucky. How many people get to show up and do what they love every day in a place that they love? In my experience not too many. At the end of the day the job of someone who owns a restaurant, and a chef is to create experiences for people that make them happy, to create things that they want to repeat, that they enjoy, things that are new or maybe things that they miss. That's a good job to have, and sure you can't please all the people all the time, but if you do it right you can most people happy most of the time.&nbsp;</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">For me there is nothing I enjoy more than watching people enjoy things I've created. After all the work that has gone into not just designing the location itself, but the cocktails and food on the menu it's really great to be able to watch people enjoying it. It's almost surreal to hear people ordering drinks you've named, or menu items that got cheeky names. I still grin every time someone orders a Mother Clucker (our loaded chicken burger). I love telling people about the food, be it our cheeses or what goes into making our sauces. I like helping pair our food with wine, or guide people through our cocktails. I love seeing people smile when they realize we offer things like Patron or Jagermeister, things you can't normally get in Nepal. Yesterday I watched a couple each order a different cocktail and share them so they both got to taste them. They did three sets of drinks like this, ordering a number of our infusions and some drinks I had designed. They were all smiles the whole time, and that makes you feel like you've created not just a place that you love, but experiences for other people that they will love. Nothing means more to me than people come up to me and say "Thank you for building this." I've had at least four people say that now, and really mean it. While I can't take all the credit, as this project is the result of a lot of hard work by our whole team, it's immensely gratifying to see people love what we have created.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">I don't mean that my life isn't without challenges or a few things I might want to change- but those challenges are part of what makes my life currently so intriguing. Sure you might dream of infinite wealth, with a yacht that cruises from port to port wherever you like, but I'm sure that even comes with its own&nbsp;unappreciated problems and&nbsp;difficulties. If, like a video game, life could be set to easy mode it would&nbsp;probably&nbsp;offer&nbsp;similar&nbsp;results where at first it's kind of exciting, but after a short time the lack of any real challenge makes it dull. Sure this isn't easy, but easy isn't fun and it doesn't make for the best experiences in my opinion. The greater the challenge, then greater is the potential victory, the greater the&nbsp;accomplished, and the more esteemed is ones reward. That to me is living.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-oHawFSVz1ok/T5554tWODaI/AAAAAAAAII8/P30ep4AV4Q8/s1600/DSC00372.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="270" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-oHawFSVz1ok/T5554tWODaI/AAAAAAAAII8/P30ep4AV4Q8/s400/DSC00372.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;">Watching the sun set over K town. Not the worst place to spend 16 hour days.</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">Kim regularly notes that she thinks I'm a bit of a&nbsp;Pollyanna, that i could get hit by a car and manage to find something positive to say about it (man if I had taken one more step I might have lost both legs instead of just one- boy am I lucky!). There may be a bit of truth to that, but really I stop and look at my life sometimes and think that if it were a miniseries on HBO- I'd probably watch it and I'd probably be rather interested to see what happens. Maybe that's not the best measure of what makes a good life, but it suffices for me at the moment. I wouldn't swap this experience with anyone.&nbsp;</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">It's cliche and cheesy to talk about following your dreams and "just do what you love", but there is a certain amount of truth to it. If you work at something you love, it isn't really "work" any more- it's a way to create within it your own mark, a physical extension of what is within you. Americans have a bad habit over over identifying ourselves with just the jobs we have, and what I'm doing now goes beyond just the restaurant. It's where I am, who I'm around, and most importantly how the whole experience comes together. The one bitter note to the whole thing is I wish I could share it with my wife who is currently in the US (and can't wait to show her the place when she visits in July). Despite her absence here I'm happy to see her much happier than she was here, even if it's difficult at times.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /><iframe allowFullScreen='true' webkitallowfullscreen='true' mozallowfullscreen='true' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.youtube.com/embed/mZnUYsqw8BA?feature=player_embedded' FRAMEBORDER='0' /></div><div style="text-align: center;">In this moment I am happy</div><div style="text-align: center;">I wish you were here</div>Brian Smithhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13550716842149752526noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3704658911492867741.post-25318265715883188292012-04-15T12:44:00.000+05:302012-04-15T12:44:01.878+05:3016 Hour Days in Murphystan<h3>Murphy's Law: "Anything that can go wrong, will go wrong."</h3><div>When people first come to Nepal from the West they note a lot of things that mark the&nbsp;differences&nbsp;between the two regions of the world. Really though there is one large difference, and that is that there are no systems or institutions that work in Nepal, where as much of the rest of the world from Singapore to London, well have working systems that make society run. To put it simply, nothing works in Nepal, including the labor force about half the time in my experience. People might take this as a derogatory statement on first reading, and that's up to the reader, but part of this is also what makes Nepal so charming, it's the fact that people are&nbsp;focused&nbsp;on family and personal relationships before careers or becoming&nbsp;professionals&nbsp;at their trade (in the commonly understood sense of what a&nbsp;professional&nbsp;is outside Nepal.)&nbsp;</div><div><br /></div><div>A woman at 1905 remarked to me that they should rename Nepal Murphystan, because this&nbsp;truly&nbsp;is a place where nothing ever works and the best laid plans almost always are met with something unexpected going horribly wrong. It's the land of Murphy's Law. The challenge in Nepal is not trying to avoid something going wrong, there really is no avoiding it, the trick is having the resourcefulness and contingencies in place to deal with the almost absurd things that you just can't imagine that always seem to happen. Sometimes it's freak weather coming out of nowhere at&nbsp;importunate&nbsp;moments, it's staff notifying you that they can't work because their father wants them to be at a puja, it's toilets being installed in horrible places because of some feng-shui system that says toilets can't face east or west (you can only poo facing north or south apparently!), or maybe it's deliveries not arriving because there is a bandh, or no power due to a sudden change in the load shedding schedule, or no elevator because the generator is out of&nbsp;diesel&nbsp;(and obviously there's no electricity anyway!).&nbsp;</div><div><br /></div><div>Currently I'm trying to get the restaurant up and running, getting systems in place that work, even in a country where nothing else does. It means teaching staff the difference between 25 + sauces that we make that they are all unfamiliar with. I knew this might be tough when I asked for ketchup and got a bunch of blank stares from my staff. I've since put three letter codes on everything, it seems to help. Ranch is now called RNC, gorgonzola dip is GOR, and so on. Due to the way food is prepared here, that things are bought fresh and there is no electricity half the time, much of my staff isn't familiar with using refrigeration all that much. Sometimes I find my cocoa powder in the fridge, but my tomatoes were left out. It's going to take some work, as many of the things we grow up with as common knowledge working in a western style kitchen is just not so common over here.</div><div><br /></div><div>Also not so common is good food, which I thought would be all upside for us, but it has some drawbacks. See if the population you're serving has only ever eaten shitty versions of what you are making, they might think that what you are making "isn't quite right." Imagine if the only burger and fries you ever had was MCdonalds which is shit (in my opinion), and then you go to a real gastro-pub and have a real burger on fresh baked bread served with real cheese and fries made from real potatoes. The person who has only had MCd's might think the roll is too hard, the burger is too juicy, the flavor of the cheese is too strong, the fries are undercooked, etc. And who am I to say what is good or bad, it's simply a matter of taste but I've come to the conclusion that from my perspective the Nepali &nbsp;crowd likes their food overcooked, their bread soft and cheap, they like an excessive amount of salt, don't really enjoy subtle flavors, like their sweets&nbsp;extremely&nbsp;sweet, have no stomach for anything sour, and have very small appetites for any dish that doesn't have rice. On that last point, I have halved most portions from what I would do in the US, and everyone is still convinced that the portions are huge. Adjusting some things to fit these tastes might be a bit of work, while at the same time not compromising the authenticity of the food we're making. That said there has also been some&nbsp;pleasant&nbsp;surprises, Nepali's apparently love real Nachos, and the Buffalo wings and Buffalo sauce in general seems to be a big hit. They are also far more willing to try real cocktails than most of my partners thought they might.</div><div><br /></div><div>On the flip side the feedback from western&nbsp;clientele has been almost universally fantastic . All those things we miss, like fresh baked rolls that don't&nbsp;disintegrate&nbsp;while you eat, a variety of cheeses, beef that isn't&nbsp;over seasoned&nbsp;and overcooked, and all those other flavors and styles of cooking we crave from back home. Despite our ground floor looking like a construction site (well being a construction site), no signage, and little advertising, people are still seeking us out and even after a few attempts coming back to find us. It's really encouraging.&nbsp;</div><div><br /></div><div>Days start off making bread and&nbsp;battling&nbsp;with&nbsp;Chinese&nbsp;made ovens whose ignition systems work half the time (and I can't get serviced because no technicians in Nepal apparently want to work and get paid), whose temperature&nbsp;gauges&nbsp;are about 50 degrees C off, and go 16 hours until you guide people down off your tables after they've been dancing on "stage" after one too many jager bombs. Long days in Murphystan aren't without their challenges but real frustration only results from a lack of imagination in what could possibly go wrong, and that is the fault of the one who doesn't give Nepal it's due in that more things can go wrong here than anywhere else. After confiding in me her own long list of current problems she is fighting that was both long and absurd I just smiled at the owner of another&nbsp;restaurant&nbsp;in the Boudha area and we both laughed. It's what we both signed up for and we knew it. In leaving she just saluted and said "Never Surrender!" Never indeed.</div>Brian Smithhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13550716842149752526noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3704658911492867741.post-12878458879600260402012-03-25T22:16:00.002+05:302012-03-25T22:16:21.707+05:30Water, Elevators, Opening Night, & Finally Some Photos<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-Tj4IUN617O8/T24EMu9IRyI/AAAAAAAAIHQ/9xmkBGhYElk/s1600/P3240029.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-Tj4IUN617O8/T24EMu9IRyI/AAAAAAAAIHQ/9xmkBGhYElk/s320/P3240029.JPG" width="320" /></a>So we're kind of up and running! We don't have a full menu yet, but after a very long week of really pushing to get things operational we are mostly there. Our biggest stumbling blocks had been the lack of water and no working elevator (a problem when you are on the 9th floor and the lower floors are still under construction). We were promised both by Tuesday ( we were also promised both by January...so I wasn't holding my breath), but Tuesday came and went with no water or working elevator. On Wednesday we were assured that things would work on Thursday, and despite our skepticism we were told not t worry it was a sure thing. Then there was a problem with the pump, and no water was had on Thursday, but we were told that when the power came on at midnight (load shedding still affects our work greatly) they would be able to pump water.&nbsp;</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-epJkFYZ7k2o/T24EdI00nuI/AAAAAAAAIHY/KQ8rFhUfvmc/s1600/P3240030.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-epJkFYZ7k2o/T24EdI00nuI/AAAAAAAAIHY/KQ8rFhUfvmc/s400/P3240030.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Standing by reception looking toward the kitchen</div><a name='more'></a><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">I show up on Friday morning around 7am, and there is no electricity, and there is no water. People are working on the elevator, but it isn't working and I need to prep the whole place for a small party that includes the shareholders and some close friends, numbering from 12 to 16 people total. Staff isn't coming in until 1-2PM in expectation of a late night and I have until 8pm before people should start arriving. Still the kitchen is just getting stocked so I have to start baking bread, making sure we have all the sauces we need, etc. Our plan is to offer all 20 burgers we have on the menu. Appetizers would include nachos and wings which means getting salsa, sour cream, ranch, and&nbsp;Gorgonzola&nbsp;dip ready. We can't just run to the store here, we do it all from scratch so it's a bit more work. I'm preparing two batches of bread (about a 4 hour process) in expectation of a few people wanting an extra burger and in case we get a few added people.</div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-RLgAEn9uFsI/T24EtuUyiNI/AAAAAAAAIHg/K3poPTNwdGo/s1600/P3240031.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-RLgAEn9uFsI/T24EtuUyiNI/AAAAAAAAIHg/K3poPTNwdGo/s400/P3240031.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;">&nbsp;Our entrance area</div><br />But it isn't just cooking I need to manage. Pepsi needs my PAN certificate to open our account. I don't have it so I'm chasing my lawyer over the phone to get it dropped off. Liquor was dropped off the night before, and now suppliers who are interested in branding opportunities are showing up and wanting to sit and talk. Our interiors are being finalized, and though those guys don't need supervision, there are pots being carried through the space, hammering going on around reception and whatever. I'm trying to get the kitchen equipment service guy to come and fix the starters on my grill and one oven. Light bulbs need to be put into lights, I need an A/V cable to hook the laptop to the amp, and the speakers still need to be wired. The electrician is still finishing the wiring and trying to figure out why some lights aren't working. I need a hole cut in one of my counter tops at the bar for where the Pepsi pre-mix machine is going. I need menu's printed for the evening. I need about 30 Kg of ice for the bar. I need order pads for wait staff. I need to finish assembling the outdoor furnishings.<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/--HDMUozlGjk/T24E8TwFKcI/AAAAAAAAIHo/ck8iTWyh4a8/s1600/P3240033.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/--HDMUozlGjk/T24E8TwFKcI/AAAAAAAAIHo/ck8iTWyh4a8/s400/P3240033.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;">&nbsp;I love our bar.&nbsp;</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">So staff start to show up and there is still no water. The elevator still isn't working. Apparently the night before they had pumped water, but couldn't figure out where it went. It had gone to the fire tank. They are now trying to fill our tank, but it needs cleaning or something too. I'm not all that familiar with what is involved with rooftop water tanks as we just don't use them back in the US. I have no idea why the elevator isn't working, it's been being installed since November so there is no logic that I can see in what is holding this thing up. I'm trying to cook the tart pastries but these Chinese ovens, while I'm getting more comfortable with them, are not very temperature accurate and it's taking twice as long as it should for the pastries to cook. The electrician is hooking up some lights, the guy that's supposed to fix our starter on the grill is a no show, I take it apart and light the grill manually.&nbsp;</div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Rz80FEcGjOE/T24FMFuTXoI/AAAAAAAAIHw/tR6v68tmc_Y/s1600/P3240034.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Rz80FEcGjOE/T24FMFuTXoI/AAAAAAAAIHw/tR6v68tmc_Y/s400/P3240034.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;">A view from Behind the Bar&nbsp;</div><br />A few more very hectic hours pass and we still don't have water. We still don't have an elevator, but the kitchen is fully prepped, the electrician has wired everything up, and Mike's guys have polished up some of the last remaining interior elements. We still don't have ice for some reason. I was trying to get staff to order it yesterday, but oh well. We get 15Kg, it's enough to fill up one bin (we have 3) about a third of the way. We will clearly need to invest in an ice machine.<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/--lJAZNyClNA/T24Fcxc2DcI/AAAAAAAAIH4/vaPGnr257zM/s1600/P3240036.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/--lJAZNyClNA/T24Fcxc2DcI/AAAAAAAAIH4/vaPGnr257zM/s400/P3240036.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">View from my favorite seat in the house.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">It gets to be a little after 6pm and there's water at the bar. The initial excitement at the prospect of having water is muted a bit by the apparent leaking water in the bathrooms and behind the bar. This being Nepal, I had mentally prepared myself for the fact that this would likely happen. People appear on our floor and start playing with the plumbing. Both bathrooms have leaks, water doesn't seem to be flowing in the kitchen, and there is a pool of water behind the bar. People are supposed to arrive at 8pm. I still don't have order pads for wait staff, and I'm getting phone calls indicating that the guest list might be slightly bigger. In fact people we've invited are getting calls from friends that want to come too. There might be too many people so maybe we'll do a cash bar after 10pm. I try and prepare the staff for this. The elevator is apparently working now.</div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-YiMO7xsL9bo/T24Ft3i2awI/AAAAAAAAIIA/-ykVjsPvm_A/s1600/P3240037.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-YiMO7xsL9bo/T24Ft3i2awI/AAAAAAAAIIA/-ykVjsPvm_A/s400/P3240037.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;">&nbsp;These signs have been waiting to go up since July</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">People start showing up and I&nbsp;oscillate&nbsp;between chef mode and host mode. Some time out talking, then back into the kitchen to check on&nbsp;business. Appetizers are easy, just Cajun Wings, Buffalo Wings and Brian's Uber Nachos with vegetarian chili. Still it's the first time staff has prepared things in the kitchen. Remember I don't speak much Nepali and some staff doesn't speak much English, so things can get a bit confusing when it's hectic. First batches go out, and are devoured at a rapid speed. So back into the Kitchen.&nbsp;</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-LVndHdMg_qI/T24F9I0Nl-I/AAAAAAAAIII/VzfJK70E0bg/s1600/P3240038.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-LVndHdMg_qI/T24F9I0Nl-I/AAAAAAAAIII/VzfJK70E0bg/s400/P3240038.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;">There is no Buff in Buffalo Wings...honest</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">When out talking to people I'm promoting drinks, which means I've had an odd mix of stuff to drink. I had to show the bartender how to work the shaved ice machine, so one margarita down, then it was time to make chocolate martinis for some of the ladies, which I had to taste, and then I promoted the New World Chai (which of &nbsp;course I was drinking too) which is cocoa infused tequila, bourbon infused with vanilla and&nbsp;cinnamon&nbsp;tincture. Luckily it hasn't been much really so I'm fully ready to start making burgers. There are well over 20 people here at this point. My cashier counted roughly 30.</div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-T1fApclgvqk/T24GN1x_0ZI/AAAAAAAAIIQ/PuojlBdXsYQ/s1600/P3240039.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-T1fApclgvqk/T24GN1x_0ZI/AAAAAAAAIIQ/PuojlBdXsYQ/s400/P3240039.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;">&nbsp;The Coconut tree wall under the skylight</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">I start the first few burger orders. French fries are in the fryer, grill is fired up, bread goes into the salamander,&nbsp;condiment&nbsp;and topping trays are full and ready to go. Things go&nbsp;surprisingly&nbsp;smooth. Then more orders come in and it gets a bit hectic. I'm starting to sound like every chef I've ever worked around, and I quickly devolve into swearing about bread not being toasted, or telling wait staff to keep their damn fingers off any plates until I tell them to go out to the floor. I'm low on sliced onion rings and I ask someone to cut more. A minute later I'm plating four burgers and my onions are gone. Swearing and rhetorical questions ensue, and shortly after my onions are restored to their rightful place and the burgers go out.&nbsp;</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-WdlSvFXc4xE/T24GRJEi92I/AAAAAAAAIIY/XYx639xsM3A/s1600/DSC00328.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-WdlSvFXc4xE/T24GRJEi92I/AAAAAAAAIIY/XYx639xsM3A/s400/DSC00328.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;">In my kitchen- no whining. Really.&nbsp;</div><br />After a hectic forty minutes or so my 25 rolls are used up. No more burgers can be made. I move back out to mingle. Some people are naturals at&nbsp;mingling with crowds and creating light conversation. I'm not. To quote Augustus in <i>Rome</i>&nbsp;"Mother you know I can't talk small." I'm no good at feigning interest in things I'm not interested in, and I don't see the point in speedy conversations that act as nothing but prolonged greetings. That said, this is easier than normal as there are plenty of interesting people to talk to here, which helps quite a bit. One guy tells me he's happy there is a place in KTM finally doing real cocktails. Another informs me that his burger was as good as anything he had in America. Others decide it's time for us to have another round of New World Chais. That drink is really good by the way.<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-cLCyFMUfwIE/T24GUQIXSnI/AAAAAAAAIIg/P-CP4fsFV24/s1600/DSC00330.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-cLCyFMUfwIE/T24GUQIXSnI/AAAAAAAAIIg/P-CP4fsFV24/s400/DSC00330.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;">Our first frozen margarita, which I was the happy&nbsp;recipient.&nbsp;</div><br />It's getting late. I had told staff that we might go a little after ten. It's already 11am. I go back to the kitchen and we assemble the tarts. People want more nachos too. Tables are moved to make space for dancing. Luckily the tarts are easy to assemble and go out without any problems. I've been up since 6am, and been quite busy and now it's getting to midnight, but I'm more excited than&nbsp;exhausted. It's a good sign that people don't want to leave, but I start letting some staff go, since it's getting so late. Finally sometime after 1am people start filtering out and we start shutting down.<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-YA2McwnRY2U/T24GXQ_fP_I/AAAAAAAAIIo/1dxHTd3ufYQ/s1600/DSC00336.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-YA2McwnRY2U/T24GXQ_fP_I/AAAAAAAAIIo/1dxHTd3ufYQ/s400/DSC00336.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;">Awesome to have other people enjoy the place.</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">So we aren't quite fully operational, but we're getting there and we will be doing small groups over the next two weeks before we hope to open around Nepali New Year. It was a crazy day, but lots of fun and I'm looking forward to a few more lime this one...maybe with less hassles from the water and elevator though.</div>Brian Smithhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13550716842149752526noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3704658911492867741.post-91947519702317868582012-03-09T07:25:00.001+05:302012-03-10T07:05:47.436+05:30Crossing the Finish LineThe title might be a bit off, as in many ways it's more akin to just getting out of the starting blocks, but the long marathon to open a restaurant in Nepal seems to be nearing completion. Yes it took far longer than I expected, but that said, I'm really happy with the results, and I'd rather have it take longer and come out as we envisioned (better actually) than have things rushed and have compromised considerably. Now we aren't exactly done yet, but we bring full time staff on for training starting Monday, that elevator which has been being put together since November is in test runs, our interiors will essentially be completed this weekend, kitchen equipment is all up and running, final&nbsp;arrangements are being made with sponsors, and everything from China is unpacked. Oh and we have kick ass menu that was printed at full size the other day for the first time.<br /><br />I forgot how big the type of menu we are doing is compared to what you normally get in Nepal. We are doing ours on A2 paper folded in half, essentially the same as any menu you would get at say something like Fridays, Applebees, and the like. Here though you never see menu's that size, normally it's just sheets of A4 (8.5 x 11). Not only is the menu physically large, but it's contents are almost equally large, and I'll be spending some time over the next week to start teaching staff what it is that they are selling. Most people here are barely familiar with&nbsp;mozzarella, so it will take some training to create a staff that can explain the differences between&nbsp;Gorgonzola&nbsp;and&nbsp;Gruyere. It also means teaching them about our 25 some odd sauces and condiments, which wines go with what foods, and about our rather extensive bar menu.<br /><a name='more'></a><br /><br />So with a post like this, you might be wondering why there are no pictures. I thought about it, but figured I'd wait until we were actually done. We're almost there, but it's still coming together.&nbsp;License&nbsp;plates are being attached to dividers, wall partitions and pots are being put into place, wall hangings are being put into place and lights still need bulbs. Tables are still covered in foam packing to protect their surface, as are our bar stools. But it's finally all there, you can sit and relax...and once the fridges get delivered this weekend and stocked with food you could even get a drink and a meal.<br /><br />So when are we opening? No idea. We're still shooting for Nepali New Year as a date to put our full menu live, but it's a very soft target, and I wouldn't be&nbsp;surprised&nbsp;to see it move. I am extremely excited at the prospect though of having even small events in the coming weeks on a set menu if for no other reason than to show off what we have put together, it really has come out great. Everything from the interiors that Mike put together for us, to the skylight that took months to get in, to the few thousand square feet of patio space, to the plates and furniture that we picked up in China. I'd be proud to have this place in the US, and here in Nepal it is very different from anything else available to people and I'm really excited to see the reactions we get.<br /><br />All this time working on this I have been looking forward to one single moment with great expectation. That single moment &nbsp;when the space is done, but we are not yet open and I'm not working 16+ hour days when I can sit at the bar, sip a shot of Patron, eat a burger and just stare out at Shivapuri as the sun sets. At that moment I will be a very content man.Brian Smithhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13550716842149752526noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3704658911492867741.post-82532446018318972482012-02-27T10:10:00.001+05:302012-02-27T10:15:09.042+05:30Wholly AgnosticA friend of mine recently wrote a post on his blog that touched on the terminology of&nbsp;belief, and he&nbsp;briefly&nbsp;touched upon the terms of&nbsp;atheism and agnosticism (you can read his post <a href="http://greatdoubt.blogspot.com/2012/02/5-ws.html">HERE</a>), and it got me thinking about how I generally label my thinking, which has over the last few years become entirely dominated by a growing commitment to a very deep sense of&nbsp;agnosticism. (I touched on this briefly in my year in review post <a href="http://smith-kathmandu.blogspot.com/2011/12/perpetual-state-of-doubt.html#more">HERE</a>). This isn't a&nbsp;rebuttal to my friend's post as I generally agree with him, but more a closer look at what a deep&nbsp;commitment&nbsp;to agnosticism really looks like, and why the term is I think generally misunderstood.<br /><br />When you say your agnostic most people only think this applies to some ideas about&nbsp;religion, and worse they often take it to indicate that you are kind of on the sideline and haven't looked close enough to have made up your mind one way or the other. In short most people look at agnostics as something akin to undecided voters the day before the some big election....the assumption is that they don't have a great grasp on the arguments that are being presented or are slightly lazy people that just haven't been paying any attention to something that is potentially quite important. This I think though is an unfortunate misconception, and while it may be applicable to a few people out there, I would make the case that anyone that has taken the time to at least come to a point that they are not just accepting what ever&nbsp;cultural stories were put before them has done more thinking on the topic than maybe the average person.<br /><a name='more'></a><br /><br />More unfortunate is that the connotation gets caught up in the discussion of religion at all. As I've stated several times on this blog, I increasingly find &nbsp;it hard to take any religion very seriously, and I really have little use for tradition, ceremony and all that goes with it. Many people find it fun, comforting, or important as a part of their identity, but personally I have no use for any of it. I even tend to think that the part of it that we make as part of our identity is a bit dangerous (more on that later). In some circles I may be called an&nbsp;atheist, but I don't like the term, not because it's not somewhat accurate (while I'll rule nothing out I see no evidence nor do I expect there to be any kind of God like what is presented in most common religious traditions) but that I don't like a label being placed on me about a somewhat silly negative assertion. I mean I don't go around asserting the existence of&nbsp;invisible people that are responsible for creating all wind either, but surely you wouldn't define me by that would you? Now let's suppose that the standard cultural tradition asserts that wind is created by&nbsp;invisible&nbsp;people and this&nbsp;belief&nbsp;was called windism. Am I now an awindist? What if i claimed that, I was leaving myself open to persuasion on the issue, but I would need some kind of direct experience or hard evidence to back up such a&nbsp;belief, and until then I would just be happy to suspend any judgement on the issue. In the technical sense this makes me agnostic as to the&nbsp;belief&nbsp;of windism, but because nothing in my experience would cause me to act in a way that would ever take into account the beliefs of a windist, I would act in much the same manner as any awindist. It's all kind of a silly debate mostly having to do with just slight&nbsp;personal&nbsp;preferences and semantics.<br /><br />What's unfortunate is that most people's thoughts of what agnostics are agnostic about ends at&nbsp;religion, when in reality there is a whole lot that is worth being quite agnostic about. A deep agnosticism doubts just about everything to at least some degree, always being open to persuasion and&nbsp;realizing&nbsp;that there is no final truth or ultimate answers that can be&nbsp;perceived&nbsp;by our brains or experience. One of the most influential schools of thought for me over the last few years has been that of&nbsp;Pyrrhic&nbsp;Skepticism, which has been likened to a western form of&nbsp;Buddhism.&nbsp;A core part of both is that as important as the&nbsp;pursuit&nbsp;of knowledge is that understanding you also do not have all the answers (or possibly any of them). That our biases,&nbsp;perspectives, biological basis for experience, and a host of other factors work to often provide us only fractional understanding of what we are&nbsp;actually&nbsp;a part of. The concept of "emptiness", for example, in Buddhism is to assert that we have no direct experience of anything&nbsp;beyond&nbsp;our experience- that it is a fallacy to assert or deny that we experience every day is or is not the shadow of a "real world" that exists outside of ourselves, which is the standard model most people go about their existence with. This is asserted for the simple fact that we have no direct experience with this "real world" and it can only be inferred through our experience.<br /><br />More important, and socially applicable is&nbsp;agnosticism's role in&nbsp;beliefs. For the deep agnostic the answer is that we simply don't hold on to any, we are even open to dropping agnostic values, it exists not as a&nbsp;belief&nbsp;itself but as a model with which ideas, concepts and experiences are to be&nbsp;approached. When people begin to internalize&nbsp;beliefs&nbsp;and make them personal or part of themselves they tend to defend them as such, and when their&nbsp;beliefs&nbsp;are made a part of their identity they defend them when challenged as if they were defending themselves, it gets caught up in our ego. Over the ages this has caused untold damage and it is not just how societies like Cambodia had mass genocide committed because some people were too proud to admit that a system they had&nbsp;fought&nbsp;to install their whole lives was an&nbsp;unprecedented&nbsp;failure, but it is that part in all of us that becomes willing to give up a pursuit for truth due to a defense of ego.<br /><br />There are nay number of&nbsp;beliefs&nbsp;one attaches themselves to that they do without certainty. Maybe it's their political views or a certain leader, maybe it's their views on science,&nbsp;religion, or economics, social issues or human nature. I'm not arguing that some stances aren't without much more credence than others and should be argued as a point in decisions, but that they should not be internalized, that they should not define you. While labels can often be used to define our thinking, more often though it makes us feel part of a "team" and that team gets defended rather than actually seeking to answer questions honestly. It allows us to overlook the shortcomings of theories, actions, and results because of a biases toward what we see ourselves invested in. By remaining uncommitted, undecided and honestly open to revising what our mental model of our experience is we can better&nbsp;approach&nbsp;real&nbsp;solutions, and engage in honest debate without becoming defensive. The goal becomes finding the truth, and not "being right".<br /><br />Some people reading this that know me might find this funny to read coming out of my mouth, as in the past I have been more than a passionate debater known to defend very deeply certain views. Generally I argue very much in line with what would be considered something close to a Libertarian political philosophy, defend something akin to a free market economic system, support politicians &amp; public policy&nbsp;with a&nbsp;similar&nbsp;view, am something just short of hostile toward religion and&nbsp;religious&nbsp;philosophy, am a strong supporter of the scientific method, think biological evolution is very important to understanding the human condition and the underlying basis of human society, and I have a strong preference to the writings of the Greco Roman Stoics,&nbsp;Pyrrhic&nbsp;Skeptics, and&nbsp;&nbsp;philosophical Buddhism when it comes to discussing ways to best&nbsp;address&nbsp;the human condition. No doubt I'm as guilty as anyone about at times overly internalizing some of these thoughts and I have, looking back, defended positions I had no legitimate reason to defend. But increasingly I have made a conscious effort to distance what I think experience and evidence best suggest as a correct mental model to use, and making it a part of my identity.<br /><br />Let me take one of the more controversial positions I have normally held that usually annoys my other scientifically minded liberal leaning friends; global warming. I am entirely unconvinced that data shows conclusively (even in the loose sense, such as rather conclusive evidence that biological evolution does take place) global&nbsp;temperature&nbsp;rising due to man's involvement on the planet. Our data points on the topic seem wholly lacking in that the span of years that we have accurate data for (not to mention the changing&nbsp;environment&nbsp;of the few stations we do have data from over time), on a geological scale we have had vastly higher and lower concentrations of CO2 and those&nbsp;time lines&nbsp;and global temperatures don't seem to correlate, I also tend to have a problem&nbsp;thinking&nbsp;of carbon as a dangerous gas and it's rising and falling values would seem to have vastly more complex interactions with the planet as a whole. Mostly I think climate and what its underlying causes are is a vastly complex web of&nbsp;cause&nbsp;and effect, and claiming with certainty at this point with the data that we have seems to be jumping the gun a bit. This said, I'm not closed to the idea that man does in fact have a direct cause and effect role in global temperatures, in fact on some level I suspect it is quite likely. More importantly though I don't think the way this issue is normally discussed is helpful at all.<br /><br />Lets say global warming is true, and carbon&nbsp;emissions&nbsp;do in fact have a direct effect on global temperatures. Are rising global temperatures a bad thing? Over even human history the earth has been both warmer&nbsp;and&nbsp;colder, with more death and hardship coming to humans during cooling periods. The world is a dynamic system and is always changing, but lets say it can be shown that it would be in our best interests to try and reduce the rate of change, that we should try and slow global temperature changes- then what? Policy wise this is a dead end issue on a global scale. Anyone who has spent any time in Asia, knows that regardless of what kind of policies or rules are agreed to, there will be no implementation. I would be just as&nbsp;surprised&nbsp;to see any real changes in the West either. It's unlikely that we will reduce output from global transportation, or even industry by any marginal amount,especially with a rising population, which also becomes tricky as a another key polluting element are also living things such as people and food stocks. Taxes, carbon swapping plans, and other policy&nbsp;instruments&nbsp;are unlikely to have any nominal effect on global output, and pacts such as Kyoto seem more like a way to say "well at least we did something" than a way to actually make a meaningful reduction.<br /><br />The key problem with anthropomorphic global warming, is mostly with the "global" component of the phrase- because it makes it almost meaningless to discuss in a meaningful way as far as&nbsp;solutions. What I mean to say is that it is still worth researching in order to discover what is happening and where temperatures might be going and to have a better understanding of the causal nature of climate and our role in it, but I think it's usefulness ends there- from a policy standpoint as a global issue that complex it is simply out of reach of unified human action. While an issue like this gets so much attention it's too bad that more localized, easier to study, just as impactful (if &nbsp;not more), go under researched. For instance here in Nepal, the role of pollution drifting up from India's Gangeatic plane on the climate and snow levels in the Himalaya is an issue that is easier to study, identify, and more importantly do something about as it includes just a few countries with a vested interest in the melt waters of the Himalaya. The&nbsp;receding&nbsp;snows of&nbsp;Kilimanjaro&nbsp;have more to do with the replacing of moisture laden rain forest around its base with coffee plantations than with rising global temperatures, and it seems again if keeping those glaciers there is important, it's an issue that the governments of Kenya and Tanzania could affect more easily. We only need to look at the localized disaster of the Aral see caused by the Russians planting cotton crops (to feed a market that was denied cotton from the southern US during the civil war) to see that&nbsp;addressing&nbsp;localized&nbsp;environmental&nbsp;issues are of great importance and man certainly can have a huge lasting affect on the&nbsp;environment&nbsp;in this manner without any doubt. (For those that don't know, the regions of Central Asia around the Aral sea were once quite fertile, and after the waters of the rivers that fed the Aral sea were diverted to feed cotton crops, the sea, all but dried up, and the resulting change in the local climate due to that body of water&nbsp;disappearing&nbsp;turned much of the land into arid desert.)<br /><br />So what was my point with this very long aside? While I remain uncommitted to a belief one way or the other about global warming, there are other aspects to certain questions that are more important than their truth one way or the other, and a part of that is what practical application does the&nbsp;knowledge&nbsp;impose? If something is true, how would it affect your actions, how does it inform about your role in the world? From a practical standpoint, while the answer may be interesting to know, it seems to have little practical application, especially to me personally. It certainly doesn't have enough for me to get my panties all in a bunch one way or another, yet people have made such ideas a core part of who they are. They are people&nbsp;committed&nbsp;to fighting the rising temperatures of the earth. Well that's fine, and good luck, but the&nbsp;commitment&nbsp;one seems to make here seems vastly&nbsp;disproportional&nbsp;to the affect one seems to actually be making, or more importantly is capable of making. More&nbsp;importantly, and more to my original point is that as a scientific matter it becomes horribly compromised when people become so attached to the outcome of inquiry going one way or the other- be it because of personal investment in your own identity or the more mundane capital investment of&nbsp;companies&nbsp;or research grants. The truth suffers for the love of money and ego. Both sides.<br /><br />Another form of&nbsp;belief&nbsp;that becomes over internalized is&nbsp;religion. As someone who views things more for their&nbsp;philosophical&nbsp;rigor than for anything else, it has always struck me odd how many people claim to be of a certain&nbsp;religion, and then proceed to go about their life with only the culturally&nbsp;applicable&nbsp;aspects of that religion being observed. For instance, most people where I am from are "Christian", but beyond occasionally going to mass, observing certain holidays, and participating in required rituals it plays almost no role in their life and plays no role in informing their actions. It's become clear to me that most people spend more time deciding what to do with their hair in the morning than the role that their&nbsp;belief&nbsp;structure plays in their life. At one point I thought this was more of a characteristic of an increasingly secular America, but after traveling around the world, I can assure you that it is quite true anywhere.<br /><br />&nbsp;Religion is not as much about a philosophical underpinning of a&nbsp;belief&nbsp;system but is instead by and large a cultural attachment that gives gives the holder an identity within his or her community. This shouldn't really be all that&nbsp;surprising&nbsp;since religious practice has much more to do with the geography of your birth than anything else. Precisely because what is essentially a cultural&nbsp;phenomena&nbsp;that the individual strongly identifies with has attached to it an absurd and largely&nbsp;indefensible&nbsp;belief&nbsp;set, it causes people to defend crazy things that they would never otherwise consider doing so. The most passive&nbsp;unobserving&nbsp;"Christian" will defend value sets that are the&nbsp;antithesis&nbsp;of their lifestyle not because they actually&nbsp;believe&nbsp;what they are saying (well they may&nbsp;believe&nbsp;they do, but any clear headed analysis would show that they couldn't support the position they are taking and the way they live at the same time) but because they defend these&nbsp;beliefs&nbsp;as a part of their cultural identity. I've observed much the same thing here in Nepal, where very few people actually&nbsp;consciously&nbsp;believe any thing about Hinduism, but as a cultural tie it is extremely strong, and should you make a statement that threatens the coherence of its&nbsp;beliefs&nbsp;be ready for a backlash- not because people can defend the idea that a blue guy with a trident looks over the world, but because it's their culture, and how dare you insult it or question it, which to me seems like a rather unhealthy&nbsp;approach&nbsp;to life in general. They defend these things not because they know they are true, but because of their personal investment in them being true, and that in my opinion is a bit of a tragedy. Our decisions are not based on what seem to be true, but in line instead with what we have taken into our self, how we have increased the bounds of our ego, and how even in the face of insurmountable evidence we are willing to deny our errors or change our views because we hold to them like we&nbsp;cherish&nbsp;our own limbs.<br /><br />I submit that we are better off casting all such thoughts outside of ourselves and to let practicality, experience and reason guide us through life&nbsp;thoroughly&nbsp;uncommitted to that which has not been proved, and remain&nbsp;uncommitted&nbsp;even to that which you think is most likely. Doubt is not weakness, it is not wishy-washy, it is not a lack of caring about the importance of what is true. To the contrary, it is about being as open as possible and as unbiased as one can be in&nbsp;approaching&nbsp;and creating mental models of ones experience in a way that is as devoid as humanly possible of your own bias, about being able to engage in a discussion or a debate and being truly open to discovery and not to defending part of our ego. That Pyrrho was probably right when he said that atraxia &nbsp;( a Greek term referring to a lucid state free from worry) was attained by those who always doubt what they experience. Life free from belief, not one filled with it, is it seems closer to the answer of what is "the good life".Brian Smithhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13550716842149752526noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3704658911492867741.post-36236729157745546522012-02-21T11:49:00.000+05:302012-02-21T11:49:44.281+05:30Cultural Divide: Why Whitey Doesn't Understand South AsiaI have about 15 posts I want to write swimming around in my head, but just haven't had the time to write them. The restaurant is still not open, but each day we are moving a bit closer. Something I touched on very briefly in a previous post was how the cultural&nbsp;divide&nbsp;between Westerners and people here in Nepal is both not as wide as they first think, but at the same time very vast in areas that we at first do not really comprehend. Mostly this is due to some very fundamental assumptions made by westerners that just don't get Asia.<br /><br />Back in one of my first posts I listed a couple of things I thought would take a long time to get use to (link <a href="http://smith-kathmandu.blogspot.com/2010/02/5-things-that-may-take-getting-use-to.html">HERE</a>), and one of them was skin whitening creams and their kind of creepy commercials. These are found in most of Asia, be it India, Nepal, Cambodia, Thailand, China, etc. For us the idea that beauty is dependent on skin color is a bit too close to racism for comfort, and thus we in the west have a hard time often relating to it. But it goes a lot deeper than that. This isn't just a status thing here, many Asians look at dark skinned people the same way we in the west view obese people, just fundamentally&nbsp;unattractive not something that is a slight preference. Most Asians are convinced that westerners have just absolutely terrible taste in woman, mostly because we don't get too distracted by skin tone, for us it's often much more about body shape and facial features. I had a&nbsp;successful&nbsp;friend of mine who was starting to see a guy who was from southern India and somewhat dark, and all her local friends were almost aghast- "he's kind of dark isn't he?". As if surely she could find a more&nbsp;attractive&nbsp;guy with fairer skin, didn't matter that the guy was rather athletic and tall- things most western woman are more interested in. I think they find this equally unsettling as we are so white ourselves.<br /><a name='more'></a><br /><br />On the topic of male and female relations, the divides go much deeper still. When we hear that countries like Nepal are "conservative" we&nbsp;innately&nbsp;think to what is considered conservative in our own society and assume that it's kind of the same here. This is a mistake. Western woman are viewed as "slutty" often by locals, and guide books like to blame western media for this, but this is not really the case. It mostly has to do with two big issues, sex and dating. See woman in the west unapologetically&nbsp;&nbsp;state that they enjoy sex, even among some of the most conservative circles where it is not discussed it is at least understood this way. In fact we would consider there to be something wrong with someone who didn't enjoy sex. For us the assumption by the vast majority of the population is that "of course woman enjoy sex" (and if you don't think they do, then you are probably doing something wrong!). Such is not the assumption in South Asia, and it is&nbsp;considered&nbsp;somewhat whorish of a woman just to enjoy the act. While many western woman may be chomping at the bit to start&nbsp;screaming&nbsp;about the stifling of woman by the "patriarchy", let me just say as a full blooded member of that group that I would never endorse such a notion. Half the fun, if not more, of the act is the enjoyment by the other individual you are engaged in it with, to me there is nothing less&nbsp;attractive&nbsp;than getting into it with someone who has no enthusiasm for it. But here is also the difference in the outlook of what sex is, where for us we engage in it as a leisure activity bordering on something akin to a sport or at least something almost recreational, here it is something entirely different.<br /><br />The other difference is a perception of how male-female relations are conducted. I have many friends here that were married to someone that they never really dated and met only a few times before the deal was sealed. Marriage is still quite young for woman, even&nbsp;among&nbsp;the higher caste educated people's of Nepal you will rarely find a woman heading into her late twenties and still single. While trends are changing slightly, the idea of serial dating with casual pre-marital sex and the fairly normal concept to us of living together before marriage to test the waters are all rather&nbsp;scandalous out this way. I honestly don't know how guys here handle it, as it seems like it would be rather hard to get laid- and maybe this is the reason for the over&nbsp;prevalence&nbsp;of cheesy romance themes in so much of south asian cinema, desperate men often&nbsp;&nbsp;have equally desperate romantic inclinations. I also can't imagine getting married to someone I've never had sex with, to me that chemistry is such an&nbsp;integral&nbsp;part of the relationship that it's not something to leave to chance and hope for the best after committing to "forever and ever". But again this underscores both a different view about role of men/woman in&nbsp;marriage&nbsp;and also the way in which birth control has greatly changed the outlook in the west, and has not been so quick to change traditions in South Asia.<br /><br />Beyond this the marriage dynamic is also quite different. While there is no doubt that there are loving bonds in&nbsp;marriage&nbsp;here, it is not like the west where we are looking to marry a friend and equal companion. Here it is about a division of labor, providing children, and in some circles providing a certain amount of social presentation. The more classic views on fidelity are still&nbsp;prevalent&nbsp;here, where fidelity in woman is a strictly required virtue, where in men it is viewed as of lesser importance where the main rule is that he be very discreet with his&nbsp;indiscretions&nbsp;to avoid having the wife loose face. Most of history this was the dynamic, one need only read Homer's&nbsp;Odyssey&nbsp;to see the differing standards set for&nbsp;Odysseus&nbsp;and Penelope. In fact I have come to believe that men of a certain stature often have younger lovers as much as a status thing here as much as for the fact that they actually enjoy it.<br /><br />But this brings up the idea of face and public&nbsp;appearance&nbsp;and the absolute&nbsp;importance&nbsp;of&nbsp;appearances&nbsp;here. Something I've come to find in Asia is that how things appear is much more important than the substance that lies underneath them. One only need to watch any movie from the 80s in the US to know that any culture, east or west, has this to some degree, but it's just on another whole level of importance here. The west has it's philosophical foundations in the writings of the Greeks, and influence of these thinkers and what followed in the enlightenment is still very&nbsp;influential in our societies. Core among these&nbsp;beliefs&nbsp;is that it is the true nature of a thing, and not&nbsp;appearances&nbsp;that are of worth. Now surely we do not all act this way but if you were to ask the majority of people in the West what has more value, substance or&nbsp;appearance&nbsp;almost everyone would say substance, but such is not the case here. Here it is more important that you look the part than that you are&nbsp;qualified&nbsp;to fill the role, in fact the requirement for most positions is more one of&nbsp;appearances&nbsp;than substance. For a receptionist, it is less important that she can type quickly than it is that she can dress well and look pretty- i.e. fair skin might be more of an asset to have than say any knowledge about how to use MS Excel. For families of certain stature it is important that they own a car, even if they have nowhere to drive to, because people of their stature have cars and so they should too. Functionality is trumped by a need to look the part.<br /><br />This concept also extends into complicated social interaction. Where we might value&nbsp;efficiency&nbsp;and completing tasks, for many things here it is about how the things appear to be done. For example people want to say that they are working on certain charities, or funding or running maybe some NGO- but what gets done by such an organization isn't so important. This is of course a generalization and I've also met many very committed people here, but by and large it's the&nbsp;appearance&nbsp;of caring that is the important part not the work itself. It also means that you have to be careful how well and quickly you do your work in certain situations, as you must avoid being too good at what you do in order not to make others, especially your&nbsp;superiors&nbsp;look bad. It's not nearly as important that things get done as it is that the right people come out looking good when they are finished (lol- does anything ever get finished here?). I realize this all is coming out sounding fairly negative, but I don't intend it that way, and I think it may also have a great deal to do with what our values are as opposed to the more common values in Asia where social standing, harmony between individuals and interpersonal connections trump efficiency and raw&nbsp;competitive&nbsp;spirit.<br /><br />This divide in how people relate to others is also much more complicated because of the much more&nbsp;hierarchical&nbsp;way in which cultures here interact with each other. In the west, while we do not practice it any better than the above example with valuing substance over&nbsp;appearance&nbsp;another central assumption we have is about the equal value of any individual. Again this is not the case&nbsp;necessarily&nbsp;here. In any relation between two people there is almost always a big man and a little man, and knowing ones place in this chain is very important. Certain people by their position of financial standing, titles, or connections hold a certain place in society where they are offered&nbsp;deferment by those they interact with. It is not a one way relationship, the little guy usually gets access to those connections and favors in exchange for work, loyalty and such. It is something very&nbsp;similar&nbsp;to what Europe was probably like during&nbsp;feudal&nbsp;times. While certain forces are fighting to create a more equal&nbsp;environment&nbsp;for all, I don't think most westerners realize how centrally ingrained the notions of&nbsp;hierarchical&nbsp;standing really is in the majority of Asia. It plays a central role in how every facet of society works and underscores the most basic ways that people interact with each other. It is because of this network that things common in the west like Yellow Pages to find&nbsp;businesses didn't really take off over here. Why use an anonymous source for a job, when it is much more important to either forge a new connection or make use of existing one through a vast complicated network of people above or below your standing. Currency in favors trumps using the best source.<br /><br />I could keep going on and on here. Sometime I'd like to talk about the difference in&nbsp;competitiveness&nbsp;(there is a reason that south Asia&nbsp;accounts&nbsp;for over a quarter of the worlds populations and less than 1% of the gold medals at the Olympics), or about what it means to be a&nbsp;professional, etc. but this is plenty for now and my laundry is almost done (the only reason I had an excuse to sit and write this long). The main thing to realize here is that it is not what smacks you in the face upon seeing it that are our biggest differences between societies, but instead it is when some of our most basic assumptions about what it means to be part of a society are completely different. In these cases both groups&nbsp;approach&nbsp;the other&nbsp;bringing&nbsp;their&nbsp;unchallenged&nbsp;assumptions with them, and thus see the other in almost completely the wrong light.Brian Smithhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13550716842149752526noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3704658911492867741.post-43410803637175033762012-01-28T19:51:00.000+05:302012-01-28T19:51:00.802+05:30Lights Out: Nepal's Horrible Energy PolicyLast April I wrote about how Nepal's energy policy was creating an unsustainable cycle of gas shortages and crippling availability to energy (article can be read <a href="http://smith-kathmandu.blogspot.com/2011/04/gas-shortages-hit-kathmandu.html">HERE</a>). Predictably we are now in another part of the shortage cycle, and the timing couldn't be worse for the people of Nepal. With&nbsp;temperatures&nbsp;dropping to near freezing at night, we are currently left with load shedding of up to 14 hours a day (and it will soon be increasing to 16 then 18), petrol is scarce and largely available only through non-official channels, and at the same time there is now a shortage of cooking gas. Watching people huddle around burning fires on the side of the road reminds one of scenes from <i>Beyond Thunder Dome</i>&nbsp;or some other post-apocalyptic story, not what one expects to see in the modern world.<br /><br /><a name='more'></a><br /><br />The&nbsp;absence&nbsp;of any one of these resources drives up demand for the others normally because we need energy for day to day living. As load shedding increases diesel and petrol demand goes up due to&nbsp;businesses running generators to keep the lights on, refrigerators running, and everything from computers to sewing machines that are needed to provide services that in turn generate income. Likewise the lack of reliable electricity forces everyone to move to another form of energy for cooking, and in Nepal's case there are a lot of momos and dhal bhat dishes made over gas stove tops. With the&nbsp;simultaneous shortage of all forms of energy the people of Nepal are finding themselves in a real pinch. With no electricity, and no petrol to run the generators that are needed due to the lack of electricity, the lights are&nbsp;increasingly&nbsp;out in Kathmandu. This is on the whole a perfect&nbsp;illustration&nbsp;of the foolishness and unintended&nbsp;consequences&nbsp;of government subsidies, especially in vital areas such as energy policy.<br /><br />The intention of subsidizing energy prices is to reduce the price and thus make it more readily available to the population as a whole. This, if one does not pay attention to the details, sounds like a good idea on the surface, after all who doesn't want to alleviate such&nbsp;necessary&nbsp;costs to those who can least afford it? The problem however is that the intention is not the result. By artificially reducing the cost demand is&nbsp;artificially&nbsp;pushed higher, people's decisions about what they can afford as part of their budget is distorted. People that might have settled for a motorcycle due to fuel efficiency buy a car, taxi services set rates according to the&nbsp;artificially&nbsp;low prices and thus get more service,&nbsp;businesses&nbsp;and home owners make&nbsp;decisions&nbsp;based entirely on distorted numbers. The entire market becomes based on unsustainable bad information.<br /><br />Now some countries can run up crazy deficits and just print more money to pay the bills because for some absurd reason the world accepts their paper as gold *cough*USA*cough*, but small countries like Nepal actually have to pay their bills. So when Nepal buys petrol, cooking gas or electricity and then sells it back to it's people at a loss in order to maintain the illusion of cheap energy, it costs the government- and thus the tax base- quite steeply. When those steep bills can't be paid a shortage occurs, like the one we are facing now. So what happens when there is a shortage? Instead of energy just being expensive for the poor or the underclass it is instead completely unavailable. Those who are politically connected, or wealthy enough to buy on the black market continue to have access to at least some power, but it forces even those with money to go without due to a complete lack of supply. In the end the subsidies end up hurting those it is meant to help the most and forces what could be a healthy market of open exchange into a shady transaction that depends on who you know and even further pushes up prices due to the now shady legality of the transactions.<br /><br />I do not worship at the alter of the free market, but I am&nbsp;cognizant enough to recognize that some systems are not bent to man's will so easily. Like evolution or a number of complex systems that man has studied, it matters not what we think of them, the rules have to be observed simply because they are the only game in town. I bring this up because it is precisely the Nepal governments involvement in dictating monopoly status and prices that is making energy so horribly scarce in the nation. Although I could be persuaded to&nbsp;believe&nbsp;that there is a "good" energy policy that could have a role for Nepal's government, it is incredibly clear that currently the complete removal of any involvement would be a big step in the direction to restore a healthy market that has in it the correct value of energy prices. The most important role the government could preform would be a&nbsp;transitional policy to ease the market into what the real prices are, and deregulate the monopolies in a fashion that insures they do not trade one openly state backed monopoly to a more covertly enforced monopoly that is enforced more via corruption, connections and back room negotiations.<br /><br />Even now the nominal increases that have been proposed that are, as far as I can tell, still completely unsustainable have elicited outcries and protests from the population at large. Student unions shut down the city with a bandh, and I witnessed a small clash with police and rock hurling youths in front of the campus near Thamel. With a government that seems&nbsp;chronically disinterested in the welfare or plight of its citizens, you think it might be easier for them to make the hard transitions, but I'm not convinced that most even realize that is their foolish policies that are driving the complete lack of energy in the country. I'm also not convinced that a transition to a more market based system would be done without some serious insider deals within the hands of the political elite. So I'm not sure exactly what the answer is for Nepal, but I'm sure the result of continuing the existing policy will mean lights out for Kathmandu.Brian Smithhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13550716842149752526noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3704658911492867741.post-47532768462200250352012-01-21T22:18:00.000+05:302012-01-21T22:18:13.687+05:30Mr Smith in Kathmandu Two Years OnSunday marks the two year&nbsp;anniversary of my arrival in Nepal, and what a two years it has been!&nbsp;If you had told me then that in two years I would be opening a restaurant, selling salsa at farmer's markets, had written a book and forging ahead with some other plans I would most likely have thought you crazy. But even stranger really has been getting to know Kathmandu, and to a lesser extent Nepal as a whole. It's one thing to visit another place, but it is another thing entirely to live in another society so different from where you come. On one level your initial reaction to the more outward differences, such as what seem like crazy driving&nbsp;habits, a very&nbsp;alien&nbsp;religious&nbsp;systems&nbsp;and&nbsp;styles of dress that are very different from where you come from are all overcome by the&nbsp;similarities&nbsp;of a common humanity. This is the "no matter where you go, people are people". But this isn't the whole story. Because&nbsp;although&nbsp;this is&nbsp;definitely&nbsp;true, there is a second level you begin to see the longer you stay somewhere, and that is that, it may be the same but cultural differences and the weight of historical outlooks forge differences in people that are much more subtle than the outward&nbsp;appearances&nbsp;but differentiate us much more.<br /><br />One of these things that I never really&nbsp;appreciated&nbsp;before is that Nepal is, for the most part, a much more socially tiered society than the casual observer from the west first understands. I mean people in the west hear about the caste system, and we in a vague way understand that it's a&nbsp;hierarchical system, but we don't usually understand the real nature of it. For us I think we instinctively relate it to our most common understandings of&nbsp;hierarchy, so we relate to it in an abstract way with the most common form of&nbsp;hierarchical&nbsp;system that we are familiar with, something like a work setting, where high caste people must be born into something like the bosses position, and low caste folks fill the roles of low end workers. This though is not really the case, and the ways it affects the social currents and the ways that people interact with each other is very complex and although it is a somewhat fading system, it has left a very big impression on the mindset of how people relate to each other. This isn't a judgement statement about this being a good or bad thing, but more just an observation that it is very much something that differentiates the&nbsp;psychologies&nbsp;of natives and foreigners. There are many of these subtle differences that you begin to pick up on over time, and it is increasingly clear that there are some subtle differences that add up to some very different outlooks on living.<br /><br />Another thing I've noticed is just how small the world seems to have gotten, mostly due to the internet. While you never really forget that you're in Nepal, there are times when I've been in my apartment, and maybe I spent Tuesday morning watching a Monday Night Football game (Monday morning I'll be watching the Pats take on the Ravens) and maybe I'm talking to friends or relatives back home over Skype and then I'll go eat breakfast with cranberry pancakes and maple syrup...and finally I step outside and see woman dressed in saris, and taxis honking as they turn the bend and remember "oh yeah...I'm in Nepal". With information technology what it is and global shipping infrastructure allowing almost anything from back home to be available, back home never really feels all that far away to me, despite&nbsp;literally being on the other side of the planet.&nbsp;<br /><br />My two years here have been two very different entities. Both years are marred by months of chasing expensive paperwork, lawyers and&nbsp;bureaucrats for the ever elusive visas, but year one saw mostly a lot of getting to know Nepal and Kathmandu, and &nbsp;plenty of exploring the different trekking circuits up in Annapurna, Langtang, and the Everest region&nbsp;interrupted&nbsp;now and again by a good amount of writing and trying to find my place here. Year two on the other hand has been almost entirely&nbsp;committed&nbsp;to forging that place, bringing the restaurant from a crazy loosely formed concept to the near reality that it is today. In fact it will be almost exactly a year after Donnie and I first started dreaming this thing up while craving burgers, chicken parm sandwiches, and buffalo wings on a trip up to Everest base camp that this place will open up to the public. In between has been many twists and turns that have kept life interesting, and although this all seems to be taking forever to get put together,when I sit and think how much we've done to go from a vague concept to actual reality that far and away surpasses any initial expectations, I can't help but be impressed, and think that possibly my expectations of things happening even faster were perhaps quite&nbsp;ambitious, even if this wasn't Nepal and things went as slow as they do.<br /><br />Lastly, some thoughts on this blog, which I have maintained since even before I left to come here. Obviously my number of posts have dropped off&nbsp;significantly since i began&nbsp;committing&nbsp;myself full time to opening the restaurant. I don't see this changing in the near future. When we initially open I can't wait to post pictures of the space (Interiors are going in this week!) and I'm, sure some posts on the menu and such will get posted as well, slightly bumping my post count in Feb and March. But my most popular threads here are mostly about trekking, and I don't see myself getting back in the mountains any time before next Dashain at the earliest due to my obligation to get this thing off the ground and fully functional. I will maintain this blog, and hopefully sometime after the initial crazyness of running this restaurant has passed I'll get to some things that are of maybe greater general interest to readers. Until then, meandering posts of random thoughts such as this one will most likely be the norm. But such is life in Nepal.Brian Smithhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13550716842149752526noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3704658911492867741.post-32710525784825221702012-01-03T12:00:00.002+05:302012-01-03T17:10:13.970+05:30I Miss America<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Every time I talk to Kim on Skype she asks me if it's cold here. It is- well it's in the 50s and there's no central heating. She asks me if I have electricity at the moment. Half the time I don't. she follows this up with a bit of a giggle...you have water? Yeah I usually have water. "Well it's sunny and warm in Florida, I have all the electricity I need and the even fast internet" she reminds me. Har har. But despite all this I don't really want to go back. I mean I miss my family, I'd rather that Kim was here, but I also really miss America.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-VAVE80fu898/TwKQbvz49jI/AAAAAAAAIGw/xqVnULro9JQ/s1600/flywithdignity-poster.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-VAVE80fu898/TwKQbvz49jI/AAAAAAAAIGw/xqVnULro9JQ/s400/flywithdignity-poster.jpg" width="276" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;">This photo brings tears to my eyes</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div>Not the physical location so much as the ideal, the idea of what America is supposed to be. Because when you really boil it down a country exists only in the minds of people that we all agree that it exists and that it binds us with certain rules. The rules of my country were some of the better conceived in man's history, the Constitution and the Bill of Rights, while not flawless documents set out to do something different from those before it- not dictate to the people what rights the government had over them, but it enshrined protection of the people from the hands of the government. If the founders who wrote those documents could see what we are putting up with and allowing now they would be deeply ashamed of us.<br /><br />Sure, before I was born much damage had already been done to remove us from the true ideals of a free society. At no time have we been pure, be it the acceptance of slavery, the institution of Jim crow laws,&nbsp;Connecticut&nbsp;Blue laws (some of which are almost&nbsp;humorously&nbsp;still on the books), the removal of States representation in DC by making the Senate popularly elected, the suspension of Habeas Corpus during the Civil War, the confiscation of private gold holdings under FDR, the violent crackdown of&nbsp;peaceful assembly in the 60s,&nbsp;and the rise of the public-private partnership of the military industrial complex following World War II were all tings that have at one time or another put a bit of a black mark (or continue to do so) on my country.<br /><br />Since September 11th 2001, my country has become almost unrecognizable. We have become so deeply paranoid and filled with fear that we have given away all those things which actually made America what it was. Fast forward ten years from that date and we now have to be groped and photographed with X ray machines just to board a plane, and it looks like the TSA will be adding&nbsp;buses, trains, and large public events to that list. Recently three American citizens, including a 16 year old, were assassinated on foreign soil by executive decree. While one of them was most certainly a bad man, we are supposed to be a nation of rules, and not one driven by the whims of men. We knew Al Capone was a bad man, but we couldn't just off him without nailing him by the law. We are supposed to be able to have our day in court, our right to defend ourselves before our peers, the right to challenge the legality of the laws that have condemned us. Just last week in the passing of the NDAA (National&nbsp;Defense&nbsp;Authorization Act) language was included that allows the indefinite detention of American Citizens on American Soil without charges and allows the transfer of those people to prisons over seas such as Gitmo. The idea of military detention of&nbsp;citizens&nbsp;on American soil is to me abhorrent, but the idea that it can be done without charges and thus not allow the accused to fight the legality of their detention is so un-American as to leave my country almost unrecognizable from its founding intentions.<br /><br />While it's cliche to say "the terrorists won", what other conclusion can there be? We gave up some of our most fundamental rights, we chased boogeymen all over the globe at the cost of thousands of soldiers lives and trillions (with a T) of dollars, spilled the blood of thousands of innocent people, and&nbsp;propagated&nbsp;more wars out of our growing insecurity. Sure we got some of the bad guys, and some of them certainly were more than legitimate targets, but the way we went about it was misserable. And why are we still even in places like Afghanistan? What the hell is our end game there? We keep trying to build up democracy and infrastructure in these far off lands that don't want it, while our Republic's physical and philosophical structure decay back home. We are spending billions of dollars overseas while Americans at home struggle without jobs.<br /><br />More damning than 9/11 to me though was the&nbsp;handling&nbsp;of the 2008 financial crisis. No other event by my country in my lifetime left me so&nbsp;disillusioned&nbsp;and angry. It became very clear that our elected officials did not represent us, but were there at the behest of large banking interests that appear to have had not just the billions of dollars that were given out in TARP (something that I think was very wrong) but the Fed appears to have given out some 16 Trillion to both domestic and foreign banks.To give you an idea of how much money this is, it was enough to have paid off the consumer debt of every single American (credit cards, mortgages, student loans, etc.) and still give them $8,000 each just for fun. Not that I&nbsp;believe&nbsp;that's what they should have done, but it would have been better than what they did which was to essentially make our money worth less. Something seems wrong that average Americans are paying 8% on federal student loans while banks are given money at 0% interest.<br /><br />At what point does the system become so broken and corrupt that our social contract is broken? Our forefathers raised up arms against Great Britain for far less&nbsp;transgressions&nbsp;than the current lot of would be kings in DC now put us under. I don't mean this in hyperbole either. Our tax rates are higher than theirs were under Britain, we have a dismally low opinion of those who "represent us" in DC mostly because we don't&nbsp;believe&nbsp;they do, our civil liberties are constantly being "redefined" and there are now pushes to limit our voices over the internet under the guise of an anti-piracy bill. I'm not some gung ho whack job calling for armed revolt, but if people want things to change there needs to be at least a&nbsp;realization&nbsp;that they didn't have the right to make these rules, and just because they write them down on paper doesn't bind us. They were never properly given the authority to take away what they took- but as long as we all play along they do have that power. I guess if the guys with the guns say it's law though now, it must be law. But that is not America.<br /><br />Have you seen my country? I don't recognize it any more.Brian Smithhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13550716842149752526noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3704658911492867741.post-81156190903836881342011-12-27T21:16:00.002+05:302011-12-27T21:21:16.389+05:30A Perpetual State of Doubt<span style="color: white;"><span class="apple-style-span"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 115%;">But now I have come to believe that the whole world is an enigma, a harmless enigma that is made terrible by our own mad attempt to interpret it as though it had an underlying truth.&nbsp; ~Umberto Eco,</span></span><span class="apple-converted-space"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 115%;">&nbsp;</span></span><span class="apple-style-span"><i><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 115%;">Foucault's Pendulum</span></i></span></span><br /><br />As this year draws to a close I and you naturally reflect on the year that was I realized that despite the restaurant taking over most of my time and being the focus of most of what I have been doing since May, as a dominant story in my inner life it has possibly played second fiddle to a new found respect for the state of doubt. Doubt gets a bad wrap in my opinion, naturally people want to alleviate themselves of it, they want answers, and in that I think we find one of the more noble aspects of humanity- our search for answers and truth to what existence actually is. The flip side of this is that in order to alleviate ourselves of this sometimes uncomfortable state we just make shit up, make horribly unfounded assumptions and can often find ourselves basing much of our lives on completely unfounded beliefs.<br /><br />The most obvious can be&nbsp;religion, which I don't really feel like picking on in this post, but it is very low hanging fruit for an example. The more I have traveled and experienced&nbsp;religion&nbsp;all over the world the more absurd it all seems to me.&nbsp;Beliefs&nbsp;for instance here insist that bells have to be wrung to wake up spirits or ward off bad luck etc, and yet in other places around the planet this doesn't happen and one experiencing this would have to thus wonder if people around the rest of the world are less lucky or do their house spirits never wake up on time? Maybe, but at what point did it become clear to people that there were house&nbsp;spirits&nbsp;that had to be woken, or that bells would ward off bad luck? I'm not sure, but it seems to me that a lot of people have made up a lot of shit in order to fill in the gaps of what we just don't know.<br /><br /><a name='more'></a><br /><br />Rene&nbsp;Descartes famously declared, in what may be my favorite example of horribly done philosophy, "I think therefore I am." His assertion was&nbsp;derived&nbsp;from some very poorly argued assumptions, but his major failing was that he never pushed doubt far enough. He famously creates a description of the&nbsp;possibility&nbsp;that we are being deceived by a demon, and this has been in modern times used as the mad scientist, or something like the&nbsp;story line&nbsp;for The Matrix. How do we know we are not just a brain in a vat somewhere? How do we know that our sensory perceptions are not being fed to us by some outside force, that this is all an illusion? Essentially we don't, but Descartes failed to also see that it is not enough to doubt our perception, we must also doubt our ability to see things clearly, to understand the very basis of what we are trying to answer. Just as you can't teach most dogs&nbsp;calculus, we may not be able to comprehend a good part of what is going on around us. Why was it that the demon in Descartes example couldn't keep his from seeing the obvious answer? Why could his perception be doubted but not his ability to decipher it? &nbsp;All Descartes could really show is that thinking was going on, and experience was taking place, that there was an "owner" to those things even would have to be doubted if you took things back as far as they can go and not just to a&nbsp;convenient&nbsp;stopping point that allows you to be an apologist between god and science. What got in the way of Descartes finding an answer was that instead of actually asking an honest question, he went in search of a question that gave his desired answer.<br /><br />My point here is that this isn't so much about doubt, as it is about just being honest. It's about really coming to terms with your situation, and just having the courage to really question every single thing and not being afraid of just admitting that you just don't know the answers to some things. Or as often that the answers do not fall in line with some preconceived notion about how the world is "supposed" to work. It also means being open to the fact that the things you think you know could well indeed be entirely wrong. In the previous paragraph I noted how we need to question our very ability to comprehend our experience in life, and I have often heard religious folk use this same argument as an argument for their side, as if a lapse in a scientific or logical&nbsp;explanation&nbsp;of existence is like a&nbsp;belief&nbsp;vacuum&nbsp;which must be instantly filled. This is not the case, some empty spots are just better left blank if you really don't know the answer. Before 1859 (and sadly to this day for the most part) the world at large had no understanding of how evolutionary processes create diverse life forms. Sure there were plenty of unfounded theories you could fill that gap with, but your best answer as to how these things came about would have been to just say, "I don't know".<br /><br />But this also highlights that just because something hasn't been answered doesn't mean that it can't be answered. The evolution of our understanding of evolution (no pun intended) also highlights how even though we might kind of figure some things out it doesn't mean we have the perfect&nbsp;definitive answer. How we understand evolutionary theory today and how Darwin first wrote about them are very&nbsp;similar&nbsp;at their core, but at the same time there is also a tremendous difference. I have to also be open to the fact that should evidence come forth that overturns all of these beliefs, no matter how well founded they seem, that you attempt to be unbiased and not cling to certain concepts and ideas about how things are. We have a horrible tendency to try and make the world conform to how we want to see it, instead of being a bit more discerning and allowing our experience dictate to us how it actually is.<br /><br />I don't know if there is anything beyond direct experience, I don't know what the meaning of life is, I've never had any direct experience that would lead me to conclude that there is anything more than what I've been experiencing for the last 35 years of life, but not knowing is also not affirming the negative. While I strongly suspect that Hinduism isn't true, maybe after I'm dead I'll be greeted by some blue dude with a trident, but I'm not betting on it. I don't have all the answers, but I'm ok with that. I've become comfortable with doubt, it's not about having all the answers, but knowing which questions are still worth asking.Brian Smithhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13550716842149752526noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3704658911492867741.post-66818306607433699102011-12-07T13:06:00.001+05:302011-12-07T13:09:01.926+05:30Maybe In Time For The Super BowlIt's now December and the restaurant is still coming together, but we aren't quite there yet. We are being held up by a lack of doors and windows going in, which once done we can get seriously started on painting, which once completed means we can move in all the other interior elements and equipment and furnishings that we got in China. Right now the&nbsp;trellises out on the patio area are going up, the bar and service counter granite tops are going in and the tile for the outdoor area should be going down soon as well.&nbsp;Primer paint is up, floors are in and the bathrooms walls are tiled. Our counter tops and shelving for the bar and kitchen are scheduled to be ready in just about a weeks time as well, so physically we could be put together quite quickly.<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-CLAP6vSKkhI/Tt8T1y54ZRI/AAAAAAAAIGI/V1v5HMjpBJs/s1600/DSC00153.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-CLAP6vSKkhI/Tt8T1y54ZRI/AAAAAAAAIGI/V1v5HMjpBJs/s400/DSC00153.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;">Floors Are In, Primer is Up</div><br />Aside from the restaurant Kim has also been in the country for the last three weeks and just landed back in Tampa this morning (my time). Was great to have her here, but it's unfortunately no longer her favorite place on the planet. Visiting is fun for most people, living here is more difficult and if you can't find that groove than it can become just maddening. For what ever reason Nepal seems to agree with me most of the time, and though it has its challenges it also has some advantages that I find compelling. So while it isn't the ideal situation to be some 8,000 miles apart, we are both essentially where we want to be at the moment, and if the last three weeks proved anything it was that I'm too busy to really do anything fun around here at the moment- at least anything fun outside the valley.<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-9hxUOZapxcM/Tt8UC0WYjMI/AAAAAAAAIGY/f6Tsr5Fp6eU/s1600/DSC00160.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-9hxUOZapxcM/Tt8UC0WYjMI/AAAAAAAAIGY/f6Tsr5Fp6eU/s400/DSC00160.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;">Most of Our Interiors Are Ready Off Site- Such As These Pots</div><br /><a name='more'></a><br /><br />While Kim was here I also had her go over some baking with me, as I am very comfortable with cooking, but desserts and the baking techniques that it requires have never been my strong point. I did manage to put together a kick ass Strawberry&nbsp;Daiquiri cheesecake, so I was good with that. The cosmo tart on the other hand I was a little&nbsp;shaky&nbsp;with, but after some experimenting with the crust, the lemon-lime custard and the cranberry compote (which took the most adjustment) we were able to come up with a product I was really happy with. I was a little concerned about the French tart pans I picked up in the US being too small, but after using them I'm certain they are the perfect size.&nbsp;&nbsp;The key-lime style Margarita Pie may be a bit more challenging, as I still have to work out a crust recipe I like as the&nbsp;graham&nbsp;cracker one I wanted to use is difficult as graham crackers are a little rare here- too many crappy British style biscuits and digestive crackers- gross.<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-OnD3J6Ogwng/Tt8T81C2lcI/AAAAAAAAIGQ/wAyUCDoZN4s/s1600/DSC00159.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-OnD3J6Ogwng/Tt8T81C2lcI/AAAAAAAAIGQ/wAyUCDoZN4s/s400/DSC00159.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;">Cosmo Tarts- About where I Want Them</div><br />With Kim's arrival we also got a large shipment of the cheeses we intend to use, including Gorgonzola,&nbsp;Gruyere, Jack, Colby, Italian Provolone, and an Oregon Sharp Cheddar.Other cheeses we plan on sourcing locally including mozzarella, feta, cream cheese, and possibly&nbsp;Parmesan though I may have to get that from the US too just too ensure quantity and consistency. While I'm really excited to put some of this stuff on the menu, I find it does drive up the costs of the food, even if it wasn't for the shipping charges, some of these cheeses are almost $30/Kg so after getting all the way to Nepal I have to use them a little more sparingly than I'd like to save people looking over the menu from sticker shock. Still it is exciting for me because I'm rather certain many of these have not been served in a restaurant setting over here yet, and after testing out some of them I can't wait to share them with people &nbsp;here.<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-UjupuLSnzOs/Tt8UMYtXoKI/AAAAAAAAIGg/AqxeaXv0gh4/s1600/DSC00165.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-UjupuLSnzOs/Tt8UMYtXoKI/AAAAAAAAIGg/AqxeaXv0gh4/s400/DSC00165.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;">Trellises Going Up On Our Patio Area</div><br />Which brings me to the menu in general that is also being finalized right now. I'm quite happy where things stand at the moment, though there are still a few challenges. Due to the cost of cheese, I'm a little unhappy at the where I have to cost a few of the appetizers, and that goes double for the Nachos which also have the burden of the high price of tortilla chips here. All six of those dishes still need some&nbsp;tweaking&nbsp;in portioning to get them in a reasonable place. On the other hand most of the burgers and even the steak dishes are right where I want them to be- and after so much feedback from people about wanting steak and so many requests for beef products (something that&nbsp;surprised&nbsp;me a bit- this being a Hindu country and all) I've added a fillet mignon to the menu served with&nbsp;Gorgonzola&nbsp;butter and chives. Since I was already making a red and green pepper sauce we went ahead and expanded our tex-mex a bit to include enchiladas and chimichangas. <br /><br />While my posts have been more than a little sporadic as of late, I really hope that I'll have a lot more to talk about and more atractive photos once this all comes together- and for the first time since I've been working on it (since May now!) it really is starting to feel close. I can almost see the finish line and I can't wait to get there. Hopefully I'll even be able to watch the Superbowl from my bar- that's my goal now I think.Brian Smithhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13550716842149752526noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3704658911492867741.post-55003205340062902842011-11-20T21:07:00.001+05:302011-11-20T21:23:05.525+05:30The Busy Life in a Laid Back CountrySo with the&nbsp;holiday&nbsp;season ending it was time to really start moving on getting stuff done, and that's exactly what has been going on. This is also why this blog has experienced it's longest black out since I started writing it. Every time I would think about sitting down to write something I just couldn't justify it, because I had a meeting to go to, or some cooking to do, or pricing spread sheets to work on, or something else that I should be doing. In fact even now I really should be arranging lists for the upcoming International Food Festival that will be taking place this Saturday, but that can wait until tomorrow anyway.<br /><br />So what's been going on?Well of course the restaurant is still the big focus. The floors are in, the granite counter tops for the bar and service windows are being cut, the stainless steel counters and shelves are being manufactured and many of our interiors are coming together. We even have the sliding window for the bar apparently figured out. Also Kim arrived back from the US just this last Monday and so I've been trying to spend the little free time I do have with her.<br /><br />In addition to the physical space coming together we are also getting the the word out by catering events here and there, and next we will be participating in the previously mentioned food festival that is sponsored by the Himalayan Times, representing the US. The menu was kept fairly simple with dishes that we thought would quickly have cross over appeal to the Nepali audience. So we are doing Cajun fries, beer battered onion rings, Buffalo or BBQ wings and burgers with the option of chicken/beef/veg. I'll be putting together large amounts of ketchup and&nbsp;mayonnaise&nbsp;from scratch for the burgers, rings and fries as well as the Buffalo &amp; BBQ sauces. I'll also bring a bunch of the bottled products to sell, including the chili, hot pepper sauce, Buffalo sauce, and BBQ sauce. All this combined with the normal cooking for the markets has left me spending about half my week in the kitchen, and we haven't been able to find any staff to start training, so I'm still at this essentially by myself.<br /><br />Due to budget and a lack of local experience with foreign restaurant set ups I've been wearing a lot of hats on this project. I am&nbsp;defiantly&nbsp;the establishments chef, so I have no problem embracing this roll, but I am also at times acting as our general contractor for the building site, the companies representative to other parties, our graphic designer for the menu, logos, and product packaging. At times I'm designing the bar space and kitchen set up, other times I'm programming spread sheets to calculate product costs from a database of suppliers products. I rush from one location in one role to another location in another- all the while wondering how I got so busy in a country where it takes weeks for even simple things to get done.<br /><br />As always the differences of how things are done here as opposed to what I am accustomed to in the US makes things just that much more difficult. Coordination of events and times are very haphazard and every day I find &nbsp;out something that I didn't know before about what is going into our floor of the building. Still things appear to be moving forward which is good and we'll get from point A to point B it appears even if that line is a horrible zig-zag instead of a nice straight arrow. The latest set back is that the building may not have power until some time in January, but even this can be worked around. It's just a matter of working with what you do have before you, and not dwelling on what you wish you had.<br /><br />All this said, I hope when people one day sit down and enjoy a bacon Swiss burger with a&nbsp;strawberry&nbsp;daiquiri &nbsp; cheesecake for dessert they'll&nbsp;appreciate&nbsp;the sheer difficulty of what we have accomplished by pulling all of these elements together in Nepal. Because I can attest that setting this up here hasn't been a piece of cake, but as they say, if it were easy everyone would do it.Brian Smithhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13550716842149752526noreply@blogger.com0